A Compromise
by Deceptive Lies
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki needed a roommate to help cover her living expenses. Shisui Uchiha needed a place to crash after long missions. So they reached a compromise. FemNarutoxShisui
1. The Break-In

Naruto Uzumaki was quite used to the oddities that life had to offer. She was a ten-year-old orphan, having to pay her own bills, living in a village full of ninja. Needless to say, there was very little in the world that could actually surprise her.

Yet when a dark-haired teenager broke into her apartment in the middle of the night all covered in blood, she couldn't help the scream that spilled out. With her hands gripping a kunai as hard as she could, she cried out, "Who are you and what are you doing in my apartment!"

The boy, who was lying on her couch fast asleep, opened one eye, "You're not Genma." He stated with a groggy voice.

Naruto gripped her kunai even harder, "I asked, who are you? Why are you in my apartment? How did you get in? And who in Kami's name is Genma?"

The stranger, realizing that he didn't exactly recognize his surroundings, finally opened up his eyes, and sat up on the couch, "And who are you exactly?"

"This is my apartment! You answer me first!" Naruto screeched.

The pale ninja, Naruto could tell that he was one by the headband that was lying on the floor by his feet, answered her, "Shisui Uchiha, at your service my lady."

The Uzumaki slightly lowered her weapon, "Any relation to that Teme Sasuke?"

Shisui chuckled, before placing his hand on his ribs in pain, "He's my little cousin."

"That still doesn't explain why you broke into my apartment." Naruto stated, _slightly_ warming up to the boy who was in such obvious pain.

The Uchiha groaned once more, "I just got back from a mission, needed a place to crash. I usually stay at Genma's, who lives somewhere in this building, after particularly long missions, since his place is _much_ closer to the Hokage building than the Uchiha compound. Looks like this time, I accidently climbed though the wrong window. My bad. Though in my defense, I was quite delirious with pain."

"Genma. Around six-feet tall, long-ish brown hair, unhealthy oral fixation with senbon?"

Shisui let out a laugh at the description, how the heck did a ten-year-old know what an oral fixation was? She was getting more interesting by the second, "That would be him."

Naruto nodded, "He used to live in the apartment above mine. Moved out about three months ago to live with his green freak of a boy-toy across town."

Shisui laughed again, letting tears run down, "That would be Maito Guy. They were part of the same genin squad."

Naruto shrugged, "Whatever, the guys a freak. If Genma is your friend, how come you didn't know that he moved out? It's sort of been a while."

The Uchiha shrugged, "It's been a _really_ long mission."

Naruto wondered if genin were even allowed to be on a mission for that long. The teen in front of her looked fifteen at most, so there was no way he was a higher rank than that. She, despite her original bout of anger, was never one to hold a grudge, especially against those that were hurt. So with a sigh, she placed down her kunai and commanded, "Take off your shirt."

The Uchiha lifted an eyebrow in surprise, "Excuse me? I mean, I know I'm attractive and all, but even I'm not used to Academy girls propositioning me."

Naruto blushed, before going into the kitchen and fumbling around in her cabinets, "Shut up before I change my mind. I learned a little first aid from this girl and her pet pig when I was younger. Your ribs are obviously broken, and you're bleeding all over my couch. I like that couch."

Shisui smirked, "And you expect me to put my trust in a girl who hasn't even graduated the Academy yet?"

"Well I trusted a random teenage boy to not kill me the second I put down my weapon. Anyway, you can either let me help you, or you can leave."

"Touché, my lady. Touché."

As Naruto dragged the over-sized first aid kit, she wondered, "Wait. Why didn't you just go to the hospital?"

"Hospitals freak me out. They're usually too busy inspecting my eyes to heal my body. Plus, Genma usually patches me up. I didn't exactly expect for him to move out when I was gone."

While Naruto didn't exactly know what the boy meant by inspecting his eyes, she sympathized. She hated hospitals with a passion too. Digging out rubbing alcohol and the rest of her suturing supplies, she asked, "Are you going to take off your shirt or not?"

"I don't know how I feel about undressing in front of a girl whose name I don't even know."

Naruto sighed, "It's Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Naruto Uzumaki."

* * *

Shisui wasn't quite expecting to be patched up by a blond child whose apartment he broke into. In fact, at first, he was quite surprised that the girl apparently lived on her own and was trusting enough to attempt to help an injured shinobi. But then she told him her name, and it was all cleared up. The Jonin remembered the fight against the kyuubi quite well, yet this was the first time he met its container. He bared no ill-will towards the girl, unlike many of the ninja his age. Yet most children his age were still genin, maybe a few were chunin, while Shisui was a seasoned Jonin. He had graduated the academy at the age of four, as the youngest active ninja during the Third Shinobi War. By the time of the Kyuubi attack, the Uchiha was a seasoned veteran, and experienced enough to not hold prejudices against a girl who knew nothing of the attack. He wished his peers felt the same. Alas, Shisui had come to the revelation that anybody under jonin was just an idiot and shouldn't be taken seriously.

Turning his attention back to the blond, he noticed that a faint blush colored her cheeks as she worked to sew up the large gash that spread diagonally across his chest. He resisted the urge to chuckle, knowing quite well his appeal with women. He's had fan girls for as long as he can remember, and even those with the strongest of wills wouldn't be left unaffected by being in such close proximity to him while he was shirtless. The proof lay with that chunin girl Kurenai, and her obvious reaction to Shisui's attractiveness while on an undercover mission with him at a hot-springs. Shisui chuckled at the memory, _good times_.

The Uzumaki was quite adept at first-aid, he noticed. She sutured his wounds professionally, before bandaging them, and moving on to wrapping his ribs. Her teacher must have been quite the medic. "How did you get so injured?" She asked tentatively, interrupting the teenagers musing.

She was biting down on her lower lip as she worked, wincing each time she made a stitch. The wound looked incredibly painful, as did the suturing she was doing, yet the Uchiha didn't even flinch. _Was this what it meant to be a ninja?_

"I was tracking down a ninja across the Iwa border." He answered, "He was an old enemy of mine during the Third Shinobi War, and recently attacked a group of our chunin who were out on a reconnaissance mission. He got lucky with his sword when I wasn't paying attention."

Naruto's eyes widened, her hands stopping in surprise, "You were in the Third Shinobi War! But you look so young!"

"I'm fifteen." He answered truthfully.

"There was no way you were part of the War. I bet you're just lying to make yourself seem cool. You probably injured yourself in a spar against some genin." Naruto reasoned, her hands going back to wrapping the binds across his chest.

"But it's true! I'm really a Jonin. I graduated the academy when I was four, even earning the moniker _Shunshin no Shisui_. They say I'm a shoe-in to be the next Hokage." He replied with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Nope. Sorry, don't believe you. Anyways I'm all done with you. Now get out of my apartment." Naruto commanded, putting away her supplies.

Shisui's smirk quickly morphed into a frown, "But I'm _so tired._ Look at all the blood I lost." He whined, throwing her the puppy-dog eyes for good measure.

Naruto groaned in exasperation, "Fine! You can sleep here this one time. But you better be gone before I wake up."

Shisui saluted his blond nurse, "Yes my lady. Thank you ever so much for your kindness."

Naruto sighed, "You are such a dork."

* * *

The next morning, Naruto was half expecting to walk into the living room to find a much-too-energetic-to-possibly-be-a-real-Uchiha teen sleeping soundly on her couch. Instead, everything was as neat and clean as she left it the night previous, before the dark-haired boys timely break-in. In fact, Naruto would have easily convinced herself that it was all a weird dream, if it wasn't for the fact that on her table was a little note:

 _Hey Naru-Chan!_

 _Thanks for being the coolest nurse and_

 _most understanding victim of a break-in_

 _ever! I appreciate it! As promised, I left_

 _before you could even wake up. I also_

 _took one of your ramen cups, hope_

 _you don't mind._

 _Till Next Time,_

 _Shunshin no Shisui ;)_

He took one of Naruto's ramen cups. He _took_ one of _Naruto's_ ramen cups. The young, lying Uchiha better pray there was no next time, because Naruto was going to kill him!

* * *

That day at the Academy, things were back to normal… somewhat. Iruka still lectured about boring topics, Naruto and Shikamaru still took turns napping and waking each other up when they were called on, but today, Naruto was staring. Staring at her eternal rival, Sasuke Uchiha. Thankfully, nobody other than Shikamaru noticed, but he notices everything.

By the time the bell rang for lunch, Naruto couldn't help her curiosity anymore. So with a sigh, she made her way over to Sasuke, who was much too busy ignoring Ino and Sakura's fight to even notice her approaching. "Hey Teme. I have a question for you."

"What do you want dobe?"

Naruto shuffled a bit on her feet nervously, "Well, you're a Uchiha right?"

"Obviously."

"Well, I sort of heard some old ladies at the market talking about the Third Shinobi War, and how Shunshin no Shisui played a pretty big role in it. From what I gathered, he's a Uchiha. So I was just wondering if all the rumors are true."

Sasuke stared at the blond, "And what rumors are you referring to exactly?"

"That Shisui is only fifteen and already a jonin." She replied, nervous because she should have known that the idiot who mistook her apartment for his friends would have lied to her.

"It's true. Shisui made genin at the age of four, the youngest to participate in the war. He's known as Shunshin no Shisui because of his mastery over the body-flicker technique." The Teme confirmed.

Naruto's jaw dropped, her eyes widening, "You mean it's true!"

Sasuke smirked, "And just why are you so interested in my cousin? Do you have a crush on him or something?"

The Uzumaki blushed, "NO! I was just wondering, I mean, it sounds so unbelievable."

Sasuke scoffed, "Unbelievable to a dobe like you maybe, but Shisui is a Uchiha. And Uchiha's are obviously superior."

Naruto just frowned, walking away in a huff as she muttered something about _those bastard Uchiha's._

* * *

Shisui laughed as he watched his best friend Itachi train his younger brother Sasuke. The eldest Uchiha was put onto forced medical leave by the Hokage, who demanded that Shisui take the next month to recuperate before going back on missions. Unfortunately, this ban included training. So the injured jonin suddenly found himself with quite a lot of free time, and he decided to spend it watching Itachi beat the young Sasuke into the ground.

"You have to watch your footing."

Sasuke nodded as he rose from the ground, "Yes brother."

Shisui laughed again, "Hey Sasuke, how are you handling those fan girls in the Academy?"

Sasuke fought back a blush, letting out a groan of irritation, "They _still_ won't leave me alone. Despite me making it abundantly clear that I can't stand them. Though I would be more worried for you, dear cousin, it seems like you are gaining a fan girl at the academy yourself." The youngest Uchiha teased.

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

"This girl in my class was asking about you today. Claimed that she was curious about how such a young guy made jonin. I think she just has a crush on you." Sasuke replied.

Shisui bit back a smile, "And just who may this girl be?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

This time, there was absolutely no way for the seasoned veteran to cover-up the laugh that burst out.

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki was used to handling her finances. She has been doing so since the age of six. So as she poured over this month's rent and utilities bill, she knew that there was something incredibly wrong with it. With a huff, she grasped her bills, and made her way down three stories, where her landlord lived.

Banging on the door in anger, Naruto waited until the crochety old-bag opened up. "What?" Her landlord hissed.

The Uzumaki shoved the bill to her face, "What is the meaning of this? The rent is almost double than what is usually is!"

The old-bag smiled cruelly, "According to the agreement signed when you moved in, I can change the prices of rent as needed, as long as it is still held within a certain range. Now, can you afford it, or should I call you some movers?"

Naruto growled, "I can afford it. You haven't gotten rid of me just yet."

The Uzumaki left, stomping back to her apartment in anger. She was ten. _Ten._ The only money she had was what she received from the Konoha Orphan's Fund, and there was no way to ask for more money since the amount given is the same for every orphan. With this new rent price, she could probably afford another three months of rent given her substantial savings. But after those three months, she would have to move. But Naruto was stubborn. Oh, so very stubborn. She would not let the old-bat win. She had lived in that apartment for the last four years, it was her home damn it! Naruto Uzumaki would not be giving up her home anytime soon.

* * *

If Anko thought there was something weird about a ten-year-old blond jinchuuriki approaching her at the dango-stand, she didn't let it show. Instead, Anko made the girl pay for her next round of dango before she could even talk to her. Eating her payed for dango, she turned to face the blond, "So what do you want brat?"

"I'm looking for someone." Naruto stated.

Anko raised a brow, "And why are you asking me?"

"He's a jonin too. I assume you'll have a better idea of his whereabouts than some random civilian off the streets." The Uzumaki reasoned.

"So who exactly are you looking for?"

"He goes by Shunshin no Shisui. Tall, pale-skin, dark hair, weirdly talkative for a Uchiha?"

Anko chuckled, "I know the kid. But what does an Academy student like you want with an elite jonin?"

"I have a question to ask him." Naruto confessed shyly.

The purple-haired jonin smirked, "Aw, you want to ask him on a date?"

The blond blushed fiercely, exclaiming, "NO! Why does everybody thing that!?"

Anko laughed, "Word around town the kids on medical leave, apparently he was injured during his last long-term mission. He can usually be found at the abandoned training field near the river. Now scram brat, you're ruining my dango time."

Naruto, who had a keen sense of self-preservation, ran away before the crazy snake lady decided to use her as target practice.

* * *

Itachi and Sasuke had already gone home for supper by the time Naruto came upon the clearing. She found the strange Uchiha leaning back on a tree, reading a thick book. Hearing her approach, Shisui looked up with a grin, "Well if it isn't my favorite Uzumaki. Let me guess, you missed me?"

Naruto scoffed, "Not a chance. No, I have a proposition for you."

Shisui closed his book as he looked at the blond in intrigue, "A proposition you say? Are you sure you don't have a crush on me? Sasuke certainly thought so."

Naruto went red in frustration, "That damn Teme! Yes I'm sure!"

Shisui laughed in amusement, "Ah, pure denial. How did you even find me anyways?"

"I bought the crazy snake lady some dango."

Shisui nodded, "Well that explains it." He was quite good friends with Anko, and he knew for a fact that she would sell him out for a free plate of dango.

" _Anyways_. I have a problem. My stupid landlady decided that she was sick of me once and for all and has decided to get rid of me by raising the price of my rent to almost double the original amount. I can't exactly afford that, not for long anyways. And there's no way I'm going to let her kick me out of my own home. So I have a solution."

"And what exactly does this have to do with me?"

"I need a roommate to help cover expenses. Now that Genma moved across town, you need a place to crash after missions that's close by to the Hokage tower, with someone well-versed enough in first-aid to help patch you up. It's a win-win situation."

Shisui raised an eyebrow in surprise, "You want me to move in with you?"

"Not move in with me. You live in the Uchiha Compound. But wouldn't it be nice to have a convenient place to stay after long missions? It's not like you can't afford it, Mr. I've-Been-A-Jonin-Since-Before-Your-Birth."

"Technically, I didn't make Jonin until you were three. I was only a chunin at your birth."

"You see my point. Do we have a deal or not?" Naruto asked, exasperated. The Uchiha was such a pain to deal with. But Naruto was desperate.

Shisui smirked, shaking the younger girls' hand. "You have a deal Naru-chan."

"Don't call me that."

"Why not? We are roommates after all. Though I'm still convinced you did all of this because of your enormous crush on me."

Naruto once more turned red, "Listen here Uchiha, and get it through your enormously thick skull: I have never, _will never ever_ have a crush on you!"


	2. The Absolute Worst

Itachi Uchiha was quite certain that his best friend was an idiot. It didn't matter that said best friend was older, of a (technically) higher rank, and was already killing enemy ninja while Itachi was still in diapers. Shisui was an idiot.

The Idiot, as Itachi now referred to him in his head, was on medical leave. This meant that the ninja, who had just come back from a _five-month_ long mission, was injured, and was supposed to be resting. Keyword being _supposed._ Instead, The Idiot was prancing along the training field in a multitude and weird mixture of different taijutsus forms; forms that definitely didn't belong to the Uchiha. Itachi noticed a few moves stolen from the Hyugas, a couple jabs stolen from Maito Guy, and even a few foreign moves that he had trouble recognizing. Shisui Uchiha was an idiot; but also kind of a genius.

But despite his taijutsu prowess, The Idiot just didn't know when to rest. He had a Kami-like level of pain tolerance, and he used it in order to just ignore the _obvious_ signs that he should stop training. At this rate, The Idiot was going to cripple himself by the time his forced Medical leave was over. So Itachi did what Itachi had to do. He told on him.

The Third Hokage was _not_ happy to hear that one of his best ninjas, and hopefully successor, wasn't taking care of his health. The boy sustained multiple injuries during his last mission, and not just the surface wounds. Multiple broken bones not healed correctly, and what Sarutobi suspected was a concussion. He couldn't force the boy to go to the Hospital, especially since the very next morning after his return, his wounds were all mysteriously stitched up, and his broken ribs set and wrapped. He couldn't even force him to stop training. What the Hokage could do, however, was give the boy busy work. Something so menial and exhausting, that training would be the very last thing on his mind.

* * *

Shisui, despite his petulance, was a man of his word. The very next day after making the agreement with a certain blond, he turned up at her, sorry _their,_ apartment to give her his share of this months rent. Obviously, because he was a jonin (and it was an unwritten law of Konoha that every jonin had their own oddities), he couldn't come in through the door; oh no, that would be too _normal._ Instead he climbed through the window, much like he had two nights previous.

Naruto, who was lounging on her couch reading a book on pranking, yelped loudly in surprise as the dark-haired teen launched himself through the window. She placed a hand over her heart in shock, "Why don't you just use the door!"

Shisui chuckled as he plopped down next to her, "You haven't given me the key yet."

Naruto's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "So why didn't you just knock?"

Shisui leaned back on his hands, placing his feet up on the table, "Now where's the fun in that?"

"You're injured, aren't you supposed to be resting?"  
The Uchiha grumbled, "Why does everybody keep saying that? First Itachi, now you."

Naruto tilted her head to the side, a movement that Shisui found absolutely adorable coming from the little girl, "Who's Itachi?"

"My best friend, he's a year younger than me and in the ANBU. Apparently, he's convinced I'm over working myself. Which is ridiculous, I think I know when I've been overworked." Shisui scoffed.

Naruto sighed, "You know, for a 'legendary' jonin, you're kind of an idiot. You're just going to hurt yourself even more."

Shisui patted the girls head condescendingly, "Sweetie, when you reach my level of skill, you know how to train without straining yourself."

Naruto fumed in anger, "Ugh, it's not even worth it. Now why are you here?"

The Uchiha grinned, which is a look that looked very _very_ off on the face of a Uchiha, "Well Naru-Chan, I live here too! I'm just dropping off my half of the rent, as promised." He said, passing the girl a wad of bills.

Naruto took the money, counting them with a speed that rivaled professional accountants, "It's all here. You're really gonna help me?" She asked incredulously, her jaw dropping.

Shisui smiled, "I'm a man of my word Naru-Chan. Plus, we're helping each other. I need a place to sleep when I come off long missions, and more importantly, a person I trust to heal me when I'm injured."

Naruto gaped, "You… you trust me?"

"I'm moving in with you, aren't I? Plus, the other night you healed me with no alternative motives. Me; a stranger who broke into your apartment in the middle of the night. Of course I trust you."

The Uzumaki blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. She never had someone trust her before. Sure, the Hokage and Iruka liked her well enough, but they didn't exactly trust her. She was sort of friends with Shikamaru, who trusted her to wake him up when Iruka-sensei asked a question, but this was different. Shisui was trusting her with his health, his secrets, and in an essence, his life. Naruto wouldn't let that trust go in vain, despite him being annoying as hell.

"I trust you too Shisui." She stated softly, smiling.

Shisui grinned once more, "Plus, it's nice to have somewhere to run away to when I want no one to find me. The Uchiha compound, while huge, is much too easy to find. This way, I have a place where no one will even think to look for me."

"Other than me of course."

"Other than you of course." He agreed, "But then again, I don't really mind you all that much. Despite being just an Academy student."

Naruto glared at her new roommate, "I'm more than just an Academy student you know."

"Well of course! You're also an adorable little blond. Boys will be _all_ over you in a few years."

Naruto blushed, perhaps in anger, "I'm not adorable."

"Yes, you are."

"I'm going to be Hokage, mark my words!"

"Not if I get there first."

* * *

Shisui was a pragmatic man. Yet he couldn't stop the slip of tongue that presented itself when faced with the leader of his village; the formidable Third Hokage.

"Are you senile?"

Sarutobi watched in amusement as the young jonin attempted to pick his jaw off the floor, "Senile?"

Shisui blushed, "I meant serious. Are you serious?"

The Hokage chuckled, "I fear that I am quite serious. We need a replacement. You're the only one qualified enough to fill-in on such short notice."

"Perhaps a little _too_ qualified." Shisui muttered angrily under his breath.

"I'm sure you'll find some way to keep yourself entertained." Sarutobi said, passing the younger ninja the mission file.

Quickly flipping through it, the Uchiha grinned, "I'm _sure_ I will."

* * *

Naruto was having a pretty boring day at the academy. After Shisui stopped by earlier this morning, Naruto was able to finally pay off her old-bat of a landlord. While Uchiha was amusing enough to cover her fair share of humor for the day, she felt that perhaps the day was getting to be a little too normal. Ever since the over-energetic jonin stumbled through her window a few nights ago, Naruto's life hasn't been the same. But the Uzumaki needed some normalcy.

So with that in mind she concocted a prank against her favorite teacher; Iruka-sensei. She was in the midst of planning how to set off the paint balls that she wanted to get rigged to the windows, when the door opened up. It opened to reveal a man who was definitely not Iruka, but unfortunately for Naruto, he was just as familiar.

"Hey Class! You guys can call me Shisui-sensei. I'll be your substitute teacher while Iruka is on a mission." The dark-haired teenager introduced as he strolled into the classroom and plopped down on the desk.

"Woah. You're hot." Ino declared, with a slight amount of drool dripping from her mouth. Sasuke, who was unfortunate enough to be seated in front of her that day, scooched a bit away from the mind-traveling blond. Despite Sasuke's clear discomfort, every girl in the class was having a similar reaction, other than two. Hinata was too busy avoiding eye-contact with her attractive teacher, blushing and poking her fingers together in shyness. Naruto on the other hand, was banging her head repeatedly on the table, muttering, "Why. Does. Kami. Hate. Me. Kill. Me. Now."

Shikamaru, who sat behind his energetic friend, shot her a look of confusion before returning to his nap. The rest of the boys in the class just looked uncomfortable, and slightly jealous of the handsome Uchiha.

"Why are _you_ our sensei! Surely there are people better suited to teach us." Kiba exclaimed.

Shisui smiled bitterly, "Well, I'm your sensei because the Hokage thought that teaching a bunch of Academy kids was a better use of my time than, oh I don't know, going on an _actual mission._ "

"Maybe he thought that because you're too injured to even raise your hands above your head." Naruto mumbled, her head still plastered to the desk.

Of course the jonin heard her, "I'm sorry Naru-chan, would you speak up? I can't exactly hear you when your face is glued to your desk." The boy said with a grin.

Naruto put her head up, glaring at her grinning roommate. Sasuke just looked between his cousin and classmate, wondering how they knew each other. Just the previous day, Naruto was asking about him. So how were they now acquainted? It seemed like Sasuke was the only person who noticed the odd exchange, as he was sitting right beside the Uzumaki, while the other girls were busy drooling, and the boys were busy glaring.

"But why would they have a kid teach us? Even _I_ could take you on." Kiba boasted proudly.

Both Sasuke and Naruto scoffed simultaneously, before sending each other a look of bafflement. "Stop copying me Teme." Naruto bit out.

"You first Dobe." Sasuke replied bitterly.

Shisui just smirked as he watched the exchange, "Well Inuzuka, I may be a little young, but I assure you, I could probably take you on."

"Yeah! Want to prove it!" Kiba cried, standing from his seat.

Before Shisui could respond, Naruto spat, "Sit down Kiba! That's Shunshin no Shisui. He's a strong ninja you idiot, he even has a bounty on his head. Now stop making a full of yourself before you embarrass yourself even further. While he may be excitable for a Uchiha, he's still a vindictive bastard." Noticing the look Sasuke was giving her, she continued meekly, "According to the rumors, I mean."

Kiba sat down embarrassed, while Sakura questioned, "Wait you really have a bounty placed on your head?!" Shisui couldn't help but notice the adorable speech Naruto gave, and how she neglected to mention his rank of jonin. _Huh… How interesting._

The elder Uchiha chuckled, "That's what they tell me."

"How?! You're so young!" Ino cried.

"People keep mentioning that."

"Because it's worth mentioning!" Sakura exclaimed.

Sasuke looked uncomfortable with all of the attention that his cousin was receiving from his classmates. Noticing this, Naruto slid over to his side, whispering, "If it makes you feel any better, at least the girls are too busy fangirling over him to look at you."

Widening his eyes in understanding, he replied, "Huh. That does make me feel better. Though I'll deny it if you ever mention it again."

"Oy! Love birds! Are we too busy flirting to be paying attention to me?" Shisui called out to the two rivals, his eyes sparkling in amusement.

Naruto and Sasuke shot him identical glares, before muttering simultaneously, "Go to hell."

The two once again looked at each other in bafflement, uneasy with the idea that they could actually agree on something.

Shisui, of course, heard them, but he decided to be nice and let it slide, "Well that's enough about me. Everybody turn to page 87. Sasu-kun, start reading from the top."

The younger Uchiha once more glared at his cousin, as Naruto burst out with laughter. Maybe having her roommate as a substitute wasn't too bad.

* * *

Naruto was wrong. Shisui was the absolute worse. Not only did he pair her with his emo little cousin, he even kept making references to the two of them liking each other. Them: Naruto and Sasuke. They were way more likely to kill each other than go on a date. The only salvation was the fact that no one else in the class seemed to notice the Uchiha's over-familiarity with the blond Uzumaki.

When Naruto got home that day, she was dismayed to find that the bane of her existence had already beaten her there. Shisui was laying across the couch, reading a file containing information on all of Naruto's classmates.

"Hey Naru-chan! How was class today? I heard that you had a total Babe substituting for you guys." He greeted with a satisfied grin.

"Go to hell Uchiha." Naruto muttered, making her way into her bedroom and slamming the door behind her.

Shisui's chuckles could be heard from where Naruto had her head buried under all of her pillows. This was such a bad idea.


	3. An Incorrigible Flirt

Naruto's fingers trembled with trepidation. Her upper lip curled in concentration, as her eyebrows burrowed. This had to be precise. She couldn't afford to mess up, she couldn't bare to even think of the consequences.

"Watcha doin?" A loud voice asked. Naruto slipped, her fingers dropping the pork slice into the ramen bowl with an undignified plop.

"YOU IDIOT! I was _finally_ about to create the perfect ramen bowl, and you messed me up!" The Uzumaki screamed in what she believed to be well-justified anger.

Shisui chucked nervously, scratching the back of his head, "Hehe… oops?"

Naruto's eye twitched, her fingers reflexively reaching for a kunai, "I am going to kill you."

"Awwww… I love it when Academy students threaten me! It's so cute!" Shisui grinned, before flopping onto the couch.

"I cannot murder my tenant. I cannot murder my tenant. I cannot murder my tenant." Naruto muttered to herself harshly as she cleaned up the broth that spilled onto her kitchen island.

"So seriously, what _are_ you doing home? I thought you had to go pull a prank on the Inuzuka?" The Uchiha asked, pulling a book out of no where (which Naruto was convinced was a jonin level skill, considering she has seen that one weird one-eyed jonin do the same on multiple occasions).

The orange-loving blond sighed, resigned to her fate of constantly being bothered by a nosy jonin, "Nah, Kiba's sister is home early from her mission. I actually like _her._ So I'll just wait until she goes another one before I strike."

"Ah, Hana right? The chunin girl?"

"Yeah, she hangs out with crazy-snake-lady and weird-red-eyed-girl-who's-not-a-Uchiha."

Shisui chuckled, "You mean Anko and Kurenai?"

Naruto shrugged as she stuffed some more ramen in her mouth, "Eh whatever. I think my nicknames for them are more accurate."

"You're not wrong. Anko does summon snakes, and Kurenai, who's a master of genjutsu by the way, does have red eyes despite not being a Uchiha. Do you have any nicknames for other ninjas?"

"Oh plenty. There's white-haired-cyclops, you know the guy who always reads porn in public? Oh! And then there's Genma's boyfriend, the creepy-green-freak."

Shisui let out a surprised laugh, "The first one's Kakashi. He's the only ninja to have graduated as young as me. Back during the Third Shinobi War, he lost an eye in battle. His teammate Obito was a Uchiha. He was crushed with a boulder, so with his dying breath he made their other teammate, a medical ninja, transfer one of his eyes into Kakashi."

Naruto cocked her head to the side, "But why does he keep his eye covered? Does he not want to be associated with Uchiha's?"

"It's because he can't deactivate his sharingan. Since he's not an actual Uchiha, he doesn't have the capability to do so."

"What's a sharingan?"

Shisui sweat-dropped. He had almost forgotten that this girl was an orphan, and was probably missing a lot of basic information that most people in the village automatically learned, "It's the special eye of the Uchiha clan. When activated, we can copy every move and every jutsu we see."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock, "You mean you have this eye?"

Shisui chuckled, activating his famous eyes, "I do. You see, a Uchiha can first activate his eyes in battle, more specifically, in a moment where they truly fear for their lives, or are experiencing a great emotional disturbance."

Naruto scooted closer to her roommate, peering into his eyes, "That's amazing. It's like the ultimate cop-out!"

"Unfortunately its true. Our eyes do give us a sort of unfair advantage against most ninja. A lot of other ninja clans tend to be weary of us, even on missions, because we have the power to inadvertently steal their tricks."

"Wait, so can you just copy jutsu? Or does it work for anything?"

"Honestly it can be used for anything, including Taijutsu."

"Woah! So why doesn't every Uchiha just go around collecting awesome ninja moves?"

"Well for one, it's unethical. But since I don't exactly care much for ethics, lets move on to number two: Just because I know a jutsu, doesn't mean I can replicate it. For example, let's say I copied someone's taijutsu forms. I might know it perfectly, but it doesn't mean that my body is trained enough, strong enough, fast enough, or flexible enough to _actually_ perform it. Same thing with ninjutsu, I can memorize all of the hand signs, but if I don't have the chakra capacity or enough control, then it's useless to me."

"So what you're saying is, is that you can copy the information, but you still have to work as hard as everybody else to actually be able to produce it."

Shisui grinned, happy that she was actually following along with theory most children would have difficulty comprehending, "Exactly.

"Well that makes sense. But… Why are your eyes different?"

The Uchiha's eyes widened, "What do you mean?"

Naruto shuffled a bit, "Well, its just that I've seen other sharingan around the village. They all look more or less the same, with either one, two or three tomoe in each eye. Yours… is different."

Shisui bit back a curse, before reducing his eyes back to three tomoe, "Naruto. What you just saw, you have to swear to Kami, to ramen even, that you will never tell a soul. Do you understand? It's life or death."

Naruto's eyes widened, "What does it mean?

The Uchiha sighed, "It's called the Mangekyo. To most people, it's nothing but an old Uchiha myth. The ultimate eye, unbeatable by any dojutsu. No one knows how to activate it, and no one believes that it really exists."

"But you have it. So it does exist."

Shisui nodded, "Oh it exists. I'm just the first Uchiha in over a century to be cursed with it."

"What makes it any different than a regular sharingan?"

"It's _much_ more powerful than any normal sharingan. More control, better eyesight, more power."

"But why do you keep it a secret? Surely everybody should know that Shunshin no Shisui has such a powerful tool at his disposal."

"It _has_ to stay a secret Naru-chan. If people knew the weapon I have, they would do _anything_ to take it from me."

Naruto gulped, "Even… even kill you?"

Shisui nodded,"If that's what it took, yes."

"Who knows that you have it?"

"Itachi was the first to know. Sasuke was next. Now you."

"I swear on my life, on my very honor as a ninja, that I won't tell anyone."

Shisui smiled softly, "Thank you Naru-chan. These accursed eyes are a well kept secret of my clan. If anyone outside of it had to find out, I'm glad it's you."

"How did you activate it?" She asked, worried that she's stepping over some boundary.

"I watched my best friend die."

* * *

20minutes later, Shisui was feeling quite guilty for not only burdening Naruto with such a horrible story of his past, but also for ruining her "perfect" bowl of ramen. So, in a typical Shisui way, he dragged her out of the apartment for ice cream, before making their way to Shisui's preferred training field next to the river. To lighten the tension, they went back to their original conversation.

"The second one you mentioned, the creepy-green-freak I believe you called him, is Maito Guy, despite his various… uh… let's call them _eccentricities_ , he's a master of taijutsu. A veteran of the Third Shinobi War as well."

"Huh. Does every jonin in the village have some weird personality quirk that should get them hospitalized?"

Shisui grinned, "Basically, yes."

"Ok, what about mini-jiji? He seems normal-ish… If you don't count the whole smoking thing."

"You mean Asuma? The Hokage's son?"  
"That's the one."

"He's lazy. Very _very_ lazy. Like bad enough to give a Nara a run for his money. Other than that, he's an incorrigible flirt. Total womanizer."

"Wow, the two of you must get along quite well." Naruto surmised, leaning back on the base of a tree while licking her strawberry ice cream cone.

Shisui tilted his head in confusion, "What makes you say that?"  
" _He's_ an incorrigible flirt, _you're_ an incorrigible flirt. Peas in a pod."

Shisui scoffed, "I am _not_ a flirt. Nor am I a womanizer."

Naruto laughed, "Yes you are!"

"Am not."

"Are too!"

"How can I prove it to you?"

"Oh trust me, you'll prove it."

"Feel like putting your money where your mouth is?"

"You wanna bet? With an academy student? Really?"  
"Well you're so bent on proving that I'm a flirt."

"Fine. If I win, you have to teach me any jutsu I want."

"That's fair, as long as it is one I actually know, and is safe enough for your tiny little body to handle."

"Ugh fine! What do you want?"  
"If _I_ win, which I will, you will watch me burn every single one of your orange jumpsuits."

"YOU MONSTER! What have my precious jumpsuits ever done to you?!"

"They're an eyesore. A complete and utter eyesore. If I'm going to be spending this much time with you, I'd rather not subjugate my sensitive eyes to such an audacious color."

"Alright. Fine. I'm only agreeing to this because there's no way you can win. What are the terms?"

Shisui thought for a moment, "If I flirt with any girl, you win. But if I go two weeks without flirting, I win."

"Two weeks? That's it?"

"Why? Afraid I'll win?" Shisui teased.

"Not at all. This is going to be too easy."

"But flirting with you doesn't count."

"How can it not count!"

"Because I live with you Naru-chan. If I spend _all_ this time with you, I'm bound to flirt on accident."

"Because you're an incorrigible flirt."

Shisui waved his hand dismissively, "No Naru, it's because I'm a man. Now do we have a deal."

Naruto nodded determinedly, "Deal."

* * *

Kurenai was confused. Scratch that, Kurenai was _very_ confused. She was with her friends Anko and Hana at the bar where all the chunins and jonins gather. On the surface, everything was normal. The odd Kakashi was currently in the middle of some challenge with Maito Guy, while Genma watched amused. Anko was drinking every jonin under the table, and Hana was attempting to pump Inoichi for information on the foreign nin that she had brought in earlier that week. Choji and Shikaku were having a silent conversation at a table by the bar, while the Uchiha boys were conversing at the counter.

Now that was normal. Itachi and Shisui came to the bar often, not to drink, since both were pretty young despite being jonin, but to socialize. Well, Itachi didn't drink, Shisui on the other-hand was known to indulge. Not that anyone stopped him, the boy has been a jonin for longer than most people here, he deserved a drink or two. The point is, the two boys were always together, practically inseparable. No, this was all normal.

The weird part, was that Kurenai has been sitting at the bar for the last five minutes, and Shisui had yet to make a move on her. People had started to notice, at least Itachi had. Shisui was always quick with his famous pick-up lines and innocent flirtations. Yet today; nothing. He had steadily ignored her the entire time.

"Ok, that's it. I _have_ to know why you're not flirting with me." Kurenai finally asked, exasperated. The Uchiha's turned to look at her, amusement coloring their pale features. She quickly turned red, embarrassed that she actually blurted it out. While Shisui was younger than her, he far outstripped her rank-wise. He was fighting in a war while she was still doing D-Ranks. While Shisui always did flirt with her, it was innocent, and usually just him loving to tease her. He was young, he was a tease, but he was still _really_ attractive.

Shisui leaned on his hand, sending the older chunin a charming smile, "Do you _want_ me to flirt with you?"

Itachi shook his head, "That counts as flirting, idiot."

Shisui quickly straightened up, turning his features neutral, "Right. I made a bet with someone that I wouldn't flirt with a girl for two weeks."

"You never told me who you made the bet with." Itachi noticed.

"That's because I don't want to." Shisui grinned, before turning back to the beautiful ninja.

"So, yeah sorry. Can't flirt with you for now. Don't worry, in two weeks, I'll be back to making you blush with lust." Shisui assured her, flashing her a smile so wide, his dimples showed.

"Still flirting." Itachi dead-panned.

"DAMN IT!" Shisui cried, slamming his head on the table. Maybe he _was_ a flirt.


	4. The Lover

Itachi was never more sure of anything in his life: Shisui was hiding something. Oh it wasn't obvious or anything, after all, the older Uchiha was _very_ good at his job, meaning he was also skilled at hiding his secrets. But Itachi was best friends with the mercurial boy for many years, and he knew when Shisui was not telling him something.

It all began the week before, when Shisui (while slightly tipsy), admitted to partaking in a bet in which he could not flirt for two weeks. Itachi knew that his friend was friendly, in fact Shisui was one of the most known and well-recognized ninjas in the entire village. However this came at a price: they all knew of his deadly reputation. There was a reason as to why most believed that the young jonin was to soon be their next Hokage. So no one was quite idiotic enough to have the audacity to, in Shisui's words, call him an "incorrigible flirt".

This all meant one thing: The person who initiated the bet with the prodigy was either _super_ close to Shisui (Itachi doubted this because despite all of his so-called friends, Shisui was only truly close to Sasuke and himself), or the person was just an idiot who somehow hadn't learned the wisdom in _not_ making a foolish bet with one of the most successful assassins in the village. Itachi was unsure as to which was more unlikely.

After that night, he began to notice an odd pattern. Shisui would sleep in his own home, but would leave early in the morning, only to come home late at night. At first Itachi believed that Shisui was doing this in order to train in secret, despite the Hokage's adamant refusal. However, now the famed ANBU operative was suspicious. Has Shisui taken a lover?

* * *

Naruto cursed for the thousandth time today as she threw another kunai at the stationary target. After a week of theoretical lessons, curtesy of their enigmatic substitute teacher, her class was finally able to apply their new-found knowledge on kunai practice by launching projectiles at the wooden board kept in the Academy Training Field. Usually Naruto loved Practical days, they were the one day where she could unleash all of her frustration by pounding into one of her idiotic classmates. But today… well it's a lot to explain.

The horrible day began at dawn. Naruto had woken up early in order to finally enact the prank against the Hokage that she has been planning for the last week. It was surprisingly difficult to purchase three flamingos in the Fire Country, but Naruto didn't let a silly thing such as illegal animal smuggling get her down. This prank was going to be epic.

Obviously, because Shisui is an injured jonin with zero regard for his own ailments, he was already sitting on Naruto's couch reading a book, having come here to rest after his morning training session. While he usually slept at his place in the Uchiha Compound, he tended to leave as soon as he wakes up. Apparently his Aunt Mikoto loved to fuss over his injuries, and Shisui wasn't about to stick around and wait for her to wake up. Fortunately, he now had a new place to hide out, thanks to one blond Uzumaki.

Refusing to acknowledge his presence, Naruto went into the kitchen to fill her bucket up with raisins and paper clips. The Uchiha closed his book, and turned his attention to the jinchuriki.

"Whatcha doin?"

Shooting the boy a glare, the Uzumaki conceded to telling her friend at least the bare minimum, "Pranking the Hokage."

Shisui chuckled, "Is that the best idea?"

"Of course it is. How dare he saddle you with the position as an Academy teacher?"

Shisui's eyes widened in surprise, "You're pranking the Hokage on my behalf?"

Naruto fought to keep her blush down, "No you idiot! I'm pranking the Hokage on my _own_ behalf. Thanks to him, I spend most of my day in your presence. It's very annoying."

The Uchiha fought down his chuckle, "It's ok Naruto, I believe you." It was obvious that the jonin did not, in fact, believe the young Academy girl.

Naruto muttered a curse, before going back to the task at hand, "Stupid narcissist."

Shisui, haven given up the pretense of reading, stood up from his position, watching Naruto over her shoulder, "Say, why do you have raisins and paperclips?"

"The paperclips are for the fish."

"Mhmm… and the raisons?"

"They are to lead the trail."

"Interesting… What about that can of blue paint sitting inconspicuously on the counter over there."

Naruto quickly shot a look at the paint, realizing that she forgot to hide it, "To paint the flamingos of course."

"Flamingos?"

"Did I stutter?"

"You do realize that flamingos are illegal to breed right?"

"I'm not leading a bird orgy, I'm just pulling a prank."

It took all of Shisui's will power to not burst out in laughter, "Mhmm, yes I see… Quite an interesting prank you got there. One more question… Why is Tora the cat sleeping in the sink?"

Naruto grinned evilly, "That's the best part of the prank. Have a problem with it?"

Shisui raised an eyebrow conspicuously, "No no, carry on."

Naruto laughed menacingly, taking her paint, raisons, paperclips and Tora with her. Shisui shook his head as he went back to his book. Really, it was better that he didn't know. Plausible deniability went a long way these days.

* * *

Needless to say, the prank was epic! The consequences for said epic prank on the other hand… were decidedly not. The Hokage, while suitably surprised, was quite vindictive. _Especially_ towards an Academy student who had managed to embarrass him while reading his old student's prized novel.

Watching the Hokage's brat of a grandson was a lot of work. The kid was only six, and while young, made it his life mission to make Naruto's day a living nightmare. He ran everywhere, making a mess of everything he could get his grumpy little hands on. He especially seemed to love making Naruto run in circles, cleaning up his mess only to turn and find a new one. If it wasn't against everything she stood for, she would have murdered the little brat by now.

However, instead, she did her duty like a good future ninja. Really, this was all Shisui's fault. He should have warned her about the repercussions; after all, he was the only role model the young girl had. _Of course_ she would have listened to the boy if he spoke up about his concerns. Now she just had to repeat that to herself a few million times, and perhaps she would start to believe it. No regrets though, the prank was still awesome.

After her adventure babysitting young Konohamaru, Naruto made her way to the Academy, where Shisui was still substituting, a week after his first day. Having Shisui around as their sensei was an _interesting_ experience. As much as Naruto hated to admit it, the Uchiha was extremely skilled, and a pretty decent instructor. To everyone else at least.

While the girls all loved him, and all the guys began to respect him, Naruto and Sasuke were left as the only two who would rather kneel over in death than admit Shisui had taught them a single thing. This led to a brief alliance, as neither wanted to lose face to the idiotic jonin.

Naruto was _not_ happy about this. She hated that Teme, and the fact that the emo bastard was her only alliance in this was enough to make Naruto want to swallow a bucket of knives. But still, Naruto survived. Barely. The Academy girls seemed to get in their heads that Naruto was trying to steal the Uchiha for herself, _despite_ the Uzumaki practically screaming that it wasn't her fault that Shisui paired the two up for some stupid assignments. Obviously, this fell on deaf ears. Sasuke, with a smirk so infuriating it was _almost_ as bad as Shisui's, merely turned a blind eye to Naruto's suffering. The fan girls were too busy yelling at Naruto to fight over him, so he would take that as a personal victory.

After getting verbally assaulted by both Ino and Sakura, Naruto was happy that the bell rang for lunch time. She quickly made her way to the swing set, only to find it taken by the Mutt and his pet dog.

"Kiba, you have three seconds to get off that swing or so help me Kami, I will kill you myself." Naruto threatened, her hand tightening its hold on a kunai.

"Make me, Idiot." Kiba taunted, grinning at the enraged blond.

Before Naruto could so much as launch herself at him, Shisui put a hand on her shoulder, "That's enough Naruto. He had it first."

Naruto shot her friend a look of pure betrayal. Shisui would have winced, if, you know, he wasn't a super cool awesome ninja. Instead he morphed his features into one of indifference, before leading Naruto into his temporary office inside the classroom.

The minute they were alone, Shisui's entire countenance changed, a grin spreading across his fine features, "Sorry about that Naru-chan! You know I can't pick favorites! Plus, everyone would make fun of me if it got out that I let two Academy students fight on my watch."

Naruto shot him an incredulous look, "Seriously? Sakura and Ino fight everyday!"  
Shisui chuckled nervously, "Fan girls don't count, they're a breed of their own."

Naruto nodded solemnly, agreeing with this nugget of wisdom. Taking a seat on top of his desk, Naruto asked, "Hey Shisui, how's the bet going? Flirt with anyone yet?"

Shisui sweat dropped, "Nope! None, no flirting done by me. At all. Nope. None."

Naruto narrowed her eyes in suspicion, " _Right…_ "

Thankfully for Shisui, the bell rung at that exact moment, "Let's go Naru-chan, time for class!"

The rest of Naruto's classmates were already seated by the time Shisui and Naruto exited the office. Taking her previous seat between the Uchiha and the Yamanaka, Naruto couldn't help but smirk at the sight of Shisui becoming serious once more, putting up the front of a dedicated teacher.

Ino, always eager for gossip, leaned towards her fellow blond, "Hey Naruto, what were you doing in Shisui-sensei's room?"

Naruto shot Ino a look, before schooling her features into plain boredom, "Oh that? Shisui and I are lovers, he was just letting me get some _extra credit._ "

Sasuke surprised burst of laughter on the other side of her brought a smile to Naruto's face. Oh, she knew this was going to someday come back to bite her, but Ino's slack-jawed expression and Sasuke's now silent laughter made it worth it.

Unfortunately, if his narrowed eyes were any indication, Shisui heard it as well. Oh well, Naruto was nothing if not unpredictable, really her friend should have seen something like this coming from a mile away.

* * *

This brought Naruto to her current predicament. Despite pulling two hilarious and successful pranks, it was still a pretty horrible day for the young girl. It was made worse by the fact that no matter what she tried, she just couldn't hit the damn targets! Naruto cursed again as her kunai missed the target entirely, instead burrowing itself neatly in a nearby tree. Shisui watched over her with a critical eye, analyzing everything from her form to her breath. He walked over to the tree, yanking out her kunai before turning it over in his hands and examining it.

"Oy! Shisui what are you doing with my kunai! They cost me a fortune!" Naruto exclaimed, marching over to her roommate in agitation. She thanked Kami that most Academy students were much too involved in their own progress to pay attention to the dobe talking to their instructor.

Shisui raised a brow, "Naru-chan, where did you get this?"

Naruto tilted her head in confusion, "What do you mean? I got it at the Academy store for essentials, just like everybody else."

The Uchiha felt his blood boiling while he curbed the urge to set everything ablaze. Instead, the young Uchiha plastered a grin, unhooking his own kunai holster from his leg.

"Here you go Naru-chan! The kunai you're using now are a little worn down, but mine are top of the line. You can keep them, I have _loads_ at home."

Naruto, for the first time since this horrid day began, grinned up at her friend, "THANKS SHISUI!"

"Of course." And then, in a quieter voice, he muttered, "Anything for my lover."

Naruto kicked him in the shins for that specific comment, blushing as Shisui just wouldn't stop laughing. As the girl turned back to her task, now finally able to hit the targets, Shisui let his grin drop. The kunai sold to Naruto were nothing but scrap metal, absolutely useless as weapons. It's no wonder she hadn't been able to hit any of the targets. Once this was all over, Shisui was going to have a nice chat with some shop owners.

* * *

The Uchiha were fucking crazy, and were put by Kami on this planet for the sole purpose of torturing Naruto with their sheer presence for all of eternity. At least, that's what Naruto declared, very loudly, when she walked into her home to find a pale-skin raven haired boy sitting on her couch; one who was most definitely not Shisui.

The boys eyes widened in surprise, obviously not expecting such a violent and odd response, "Are you not scared that I broke in?" He asked.

Naruto shrugged, throwing her jacket on the table, before making her way into the kitchen to make ramen, "Not really. I'm sort of used to it by now."

"That's… disconcerting." The boy admitted, watching the girl boil water.

"You're telling me. Anyways, who the hell are you?"

"Hello Naruto Uzumaki. My name is Itachi Uchiha. I'm a friend of Shisui's." He answered.

"Itachi… Itachi… Where the hell have I heard that name before?"

"I believe you are in class with my brother."

"OH! You're the Temi's brother!" Naruto realized.

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "The Temi?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, your brother's a bastard. But I've come to the realization that all Uchiha's are, so I guess it's not really his fault."

"And you are an expert on Uchiha I presume?"

"Welp, let's see… I've only met three of them. Out of the three, one enjoys calling me Dobe and leaving me to get yelled at by his rabid fan girls, while the other two enjoy breaking into my apartment. That's pretty bastard-like, don't you think?"

Itachi smiled, "You're the one who made a bet with Shisui about flirting."

Naruto's eyes widened, "He told you about that?"

Itachi nodded, "He wanted me to know so that I could act as a reminder."

"How'd you figure it was me? And frankly, while we're on the subject, how the hell did you find my apartment?!"

"I traced Shisui's chakra here. He's been coming here often enough for me to pick up on it. As for how I knew you issued the bet, well, let's just say it's very rare to find someone who would so boldly challenge Shisui."

"Why? The guy is an idiot. Has a bunch of broken ribs and a torn torso, yet he still insists on training."

Itachi was pleasantly surprised by this girl. When he first found the apartment, he was quite confused as to why his friend would spend so much time with the resident jinchuriki. She was smarter, and quite honestly much more funny than he expected. Plus, her manner of speaking was so curt and direct. It was refreshing. As Uchiha's, and elite jonin, both boys were quite accustomed to people mincing their words in their presence. This girl just didn't care enough to do so.

"Ah yes, he is quite an idiot. That's why I told the Hokage about it."

Naruto almost dropped her bowl in shock, "You _told_ on him!"

Itachi nodded with a smile, "Well of course. Shisui is my oldest friend, I wouldn't want him to get hurt."

Naruto snorted, "Bullshit, you just wanted to see what the Hokage would come up with as punishment."

"I'll admit I was curious, the Hokage has quite the imaginative mind. I was not, however, prepared for Shisui to be assigned to the Academy, as Sasuke's teacher no less."

"Yeah the bastard was super shocked when Shisui walked in. Almost made the whole thing worth it. _Almost._ "

"I must say Naruto, I am quite confused as to how your friendship with Shisui started."

"I'll tell you the entire story if you want… For a price."

Itachi smirked, oh yes, he quite understood Shisui's fondness for the girl, "Name it."

"I have some questions for you about Shisui and Sasuke. I want them answered."

"Deal."

"Very well. It all started when Shisui came back from his long-term mission…"

* * *

By the time Naruto had finished her tale, the two new friends were seated at the dining room table, finishing their bowls of ramen.

"I must say, that is quite the story. Thank you for telling it to me."

"Of course. You are Shisui's lover after all."

Itachi shot her a look. She was adamant in calling him that, ever since midway through the tale, he admitted to being Shisui's closest companion. Naruto took that to mean that they are now lovers. "Don't call me that."

"Why not? Is it because you're embarrassed? I would be too, if I were so publicly linked to Shisui." Naruto grinned. Oh they both knew that the Uzumaki was kidding, but man was she going to milk this nickname for all it was worth.

"You have a very unhealthy obsession with aggravating high ranking ninjas."

"It's a gift, truly. Anyways, now it's your turn."

"What would you like to know?"

"My first question is pretty simple: Did Shisui already lose the bet?"

Itachi grinned, this was the start of a _beautiful_ friendship.


	5. An Alliance

Granted, Naruto probably should have known that this was not her best idea. Here she was, covered head to toe in glue and multi-colored feathers, standing sheepishly in the Hokage's office.

"Ah… Jiji… I can explain." She muttered nervously, scratching the back of her head.

The old Hokage leveled a stare at the young Uzumaki, "Well then young Naruto, explain."

The orange-loving academy student was about to open her mouth to begin her long tirade about the damn Uchiha's, when she realized that she probably shouldn't tell her grandfather figure about the _small itsy-bitsy_ fact that she technically lived with a good looking boy five years older than her. Well… time to improvise.

"Umm… it was… Uh… It was Anko! Yeah yeah, that crazy snake lady cornered me! She wanted some help with pranking the Uchiha's, so _of course_ she called me, the best prankster in Konoha! Yup, that's what happened. Totally." Naruto gulped while she plastered a very large, very fake grin. Oh damn Anko was going to kill her for this.

* * *

The day started out basic enough. Naruto woke up, took a shower, got dressed, before proceeding to the kitchen to get a bite to eat. It was then, when she found three raven haired boys helping themselves to her cereal.

"Are you kidding me right now!? Are you _fucking_ kidding me!?" She screeched.

"Hey Naru-chan." Shisui greeted with a grin.

"Hi Naruto." Itachi responded.

"Dobe." Sasuke grunted.

Naruto's eyes twitched in anger, "Do you _fuckers_ have no meaning of privacy?! And just what the fuck is the Teme doing here?"

"You really have to watch your language Naru-chan." Shisui commented.

"Fuck off dumbass. I don't remember inviting any of you."

Itachi swallowed his bite of cereal, "Ah yes, cousin Shisui let us in."

Naruto was beginning to turn red in agitation, "Look, just because your _lover_ -" at this Sasuke choked on his milk, "lives here, it does not mean that my apartment is welcome to the entire Uchiha Clan!"

"Tsk, does it look like the entire clan is here Dobe?" Sasuke asked, attitude laced in his voice.

"Ok, that's it!" Before Naruto could lunge at him with a kunai, Shisui was already behind her, holding her back.

"Please don't kill my little cousin. He's sort of amusing at times." Shisui said with a laugh.

Naruto shoved the elder boy off of her, before taking the last seat at the dining room table. "Explain. Now."

Itachi, as the most mature man at the table, decided to be the one to reason with the angry girl, "Last week, after our meeting, Shisui was quickly able to deduct where I've been. I'm afraid I've never been able to keep anything from him. Once he realized this, he decided how much easier it would be to write up reports in peace since now I'm aware of the fact that he has this apartment available for his use. You see, the two of us are often on the same missions together, yet very rarely do we ever find a place to write up our mission reports together where other people can's eavesdrop."

"Such is the woes of a Jonin." Shisui interjected.

Shooting a glare at her roommate, Naruto gestured for Itachi to finish, "Well once we figured this out, we then _also_ realized how much easier it would be for us if we let Sasuke in on the secret as well. He's usually with us anyways, and he could use a place to do his studies without getting interrupted as well. The Uchiha compound is full of overbearing mothers and clingy little cousins."

Naruto's eye continued to twitch, "So you're telling me, that my apartment has become some sort of pseudo-safe house for all of you!"

The three Uchiha's shared a look, before turning to the girl and nodding as one, "Pretty much."

Naruto banged her head against the table. How the fuck has this become her life?

* * *

Pretty soon, the boys all left her apartment, finally awarding Naruto with some peace and quiet. Her stomach started grumbling in hunger, however once she looked in her cabinets, not a trace of food could be found.

 _Fucking Uchiha's at all of my food, I'm going to fucking kill them!_

Realizing that she had to leave her house to find any type of meal, she made her way down to Ichiraku Ramen, her home away from home. On her way, she happened to pass by the Dango stand, where she noticed a certain purple-haired tokubetsu jonin. Grinning, the young blond practically skipped towards her.

"Hey Crazy Snake Lady!" Naruto greeted with a grin, as she took a seat beside her.

Wielding a dango stick like a weapon, the elder woman glared at the girl, "What did I tell you about calling me that brat!?"

Naruto sweat-dropped, "Not to?"

Anko dropped her stick of dango, returning her attention back to her meal, "What do you want? To buy me more food?"

"Uh, not exactly. I have a proposition for you."

"Sorry little girl. Don't swing that way. Besides, you're a little young for me anyways."

Naruto turned red, "FUCK NO! That's not what I meant you psycho! I'm ten for Kami's sake!"

Anko snorted, "You might be ten, but you still understood my insinuations. That says a lot more about you than it does about me."

"I'm not the one making sexual comments towards a minor!"

"Riggghhtt. I forgot. You're the girl in love with Shisui."

"NO I'M NOT!"

"Then why did you want to know the jonin's haunts? I think you _like like_ him."

"Why does everybody think that? I don't like the insufferable incorrigible flirt!"

"What are you doing here brat?" Anko finally cut the teasing.

"Like I said. I need your help."

"And makes you think I would help some Academy brat?"

Naruto grinned evilly, "Because it involves seeing the Uchiha's in pain and humiliation."

"Count me in."

* * *

Before long, Naruto was due back at the Academy, where Iruka sensei had finally returned back to his post. Taking a seat next the bane of her existence, she looked around to make sure no one was listening. Thankfully, most of the students haven't shown up yet.

"Listen here Teme. If you tell anyone, and I mean _anyone,_ about me living with Shisui, I will personally make sure you will never be able to reproduce. Got it?"

Sasuke sneered, "Oh please, as if I _want_ to admit that the pride of the Uchiha's has slummed down to living with a Dobe."

"You didn't seem to mind this morning at breakfast, now did you?"

Sasuke scoffed, "That's completely different. I, for one, know how to keep my personal life separate from my ninja life."

Naruto fluttered her eyes coyly, "Does that make me a part of your personal life? I _knew_ that you loved me!"

Sasuke was happy that no one noticed him shoving Naruto out of her chair. It wouldn't have done well for his reputation if anyone saw that. However that was tossed to the wayside regardless when Naruto retaliated by tackling him onto the floor.

* * *

"This is your fault." Naruto muttered as she cleaned the Academy floors.

"My fault?! I'm not the Dobe who _tackled_ an innocent onto the floor." Sasuke exclaimed, shoving his rag into the bucket of water.

" _Innocent_!? You _pushed_ me first!"

The Uchiha shrugged, "You deserved it Dobe."

Naruto resisted the urge to throttle the idiot beside her, "I refuse to argue about this. I've wasted enough of my day on you fucking Uchiha's."

Sasuke shot a look at the blond, "Huh. Shisui was right. You really do curse a lot."

 _Breathe Naruto, you cannot commit murder. You cannot commit murder. You cannot commit murder._

The only thing that was getting Naruto through her day way the memory of the plan she had concocted with Anko. Oh it was going to be glorious.

* * *

Anko was amused. Anko was _very_ amused. This blond girl was an absolute riot! Now Anko wasn't quite certain what the young jinchuriki's relationship was with her friend Shisui, but she was _pissed_ at the fact that the Uchiha bastard was the first to discover this absolute gem of a future ninja.

The orange loving girl had proved herself to be just as, if not more, vindictive than Anko herself. It didn't take long for the Uzumaki to convince the older ninja about her plan, for it was practically brilliant. Anko just had to make sure that it went off without a hitch.

After lugging three buckets of glue across the village, Naruto had taken her place just outside of the Uchiha clan compound. Now she just had to wait for her signal. It really was a good thing that she shaved some flamingo feathers from her last prank.

Anko was stationed on a high branch directly above the compound, waiting for the perfect moment to attack. There was no way they could fail!

Unfortunately, both girls forgot to take into account a couple things:

1) Shisui and Itachi were both of a higher rank

2) Despite their idiocy, the Uchiha boys were accomplished ninjas

3) Just because Shisui was injured, did not mean he still wasn't the fastest ninja in the village

And 4) The Damn Sharingan

Taking these few things into consideration, perhaps they should have seen it coming that the plan completely backfired. Like completely.

Anko, the backstabber, was able to get away clean. Naruto on the other hand, well, she was covered in glue and feathers being interrogated by the Hokage.

Damn Uchiha's.


	6. The Training Begins

"I won the bet."

"No you didn't."

"Yes I did!"

"I was doing so well these last two weeks, I haven't flirted once!"

Naruto smiled slyly, " _Oh really…_ Because according to Itachi-kun, you flirted with Kurenai just hours after making the bet."

Shisui's eyebrows twitched in anger, _fucking Itachi,_ "I wasn't flirting… I was… uhh… paying her a well timed compliment."

"That's flirting you idiot."

The Uchiha waved his hand dismissively, "A minor slip up, I assure you. It doesn't mean that I lost the bet."

"If you flirted, you _lost_."

"We have two very different ideas about what it means to lose."

Naruto could feel herself turning red in anger, "YOU LOST! Pay up Shisui!"

The jonin stared in defiance, before the corners of his mouth turned up in an evil smile, "I'll concede to your victory… under one condition."

The blond student glared, before gritting her teeth and spitting out, " _What?_ "

Shisui smiled, his eyes closing innocently in the process, "You have to refer to me as Shisui-kun."

"No."

"That's the only way."

"Oh, I'm sorry, perhaps I wasn't being clear. HELL NO."

"Welp, then you aren't getting your jutsu." The boy stated, flopping onto the couch.

"Will you _please_ teach me a jutsu… _Shisui-kun_." She spat this vehemently, with obvious disdain. Yet it was enough.

"Perfect! Let's go to the training field, there's a long day ahead of us!"

* * *

Naruto was beaming, practically sprinting towards the field with an amused Uchiha strolling behind her. The older ninja was chuckling as he followed the young girl, she was a surprising addition to his life. He never saw her coming, never even imagined the weird friendship that could develop between them. Yet here they were; and frankly Shisui wouldn't trade it for anything.

"So what are you going to teach me sensei?" Naruto asked with a grin.

Shisui chuckled, "Well it all depends on what your elemental affinity is."

Naruto hopped on the balls of her feet, her head tilted to the side in adorable confusion, "What's an elemental affinity?"

Shisui's smile grew, "It's the element that your body finds easier to manipulate. Everybody has at least one affinity. Some lucky ninja get two. Even fewer, extremely rare ninjas get three."

Naruto stared at her roommate in irritation, "Oh please allow me to guess. You just _happen_ to be one of the ninjas that have three?"

Shisui grinned, "Yup! What can I say, Kami loves me."

Naruto rolled her eyes at the boy. Despite her apparent sarcastic remarks, she truly was astonished by how amazing Shisui was. Not only was he the youngest veteran of the Third Shinobi War, but he had so many more talents that backed up his prowess. Which was why she was unsurprised by the fact that he had three elemental affinities, when everybody else in the world had only one.

"So wait, would I be able to use other elements that aren't my affinity?"

"Yes you would, but they would be much harder to control. For example, say your affinity is fire. Any jutsu that requires fire would be much easier for you to learn and use, then say its opposite element, water. That's why it's always smarter to start leaning jutsus that align with your affinity." Shisui calmly explained.

"Ok, so what are your affinities?"

"Fire, wind and lightning. Hopefully your affinity is one of those three."

"But don't you have the sharingan? You probably know hundreds of jutsu."

"You're not wrong. Because of my position during the war, I was able to copy many different types of jutsu. And truthfully, I'm able to use every elemental type. However it would be a lot easier to teach you if you happened to have the same affinity as me, since it comes a lot easier and I would be able to relate with any specific struggles."

"Awesome! How do we find out what my affinity is? OH oh oh! I bet its something cool like going on a spiritual journey through a frozen tundra! Or fighting a giant raccoon who holds all of the mystical answers!"

Shisui calmly took out a small piece of paper from his pocket, "Channel your chakra into this."

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Naruto did what she was told, only to drop the paper in surprise when she sees it being cut in half.

"Congratulations Naru-chan, you're a wind affinity like me! Wind actually happens to be the least common affinity in the Land of Fire, and perhaps the most malleable." Shisui announced.

"What do you mean by malleable?"

"As in you can use it in many different ways," Shisui explained, "You can channel your chakra into a knife in order to cut deeper, like Asuma does. Or make a great big gust of wind to push your enemies away. You can also combine it with other elements in order to make them stronger, such as fire techniques."

With each word, Naruto was getting more and more excited, practically hoping in unrestrained joy, "So what are you going to teach me!?"

Shisui smiled innocently, "Today, my dear pupil, you are going to learn how to cut a leaf."

Silence.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

Cutting a leaf, Naruto learned, was a _lot_ harder than she assumed. It was so hard, in fact, that Shisui had to stop her and take her back several steps.

"Your chakra control is atrocious," He remarked, "You have to improve it before you can even _begin_ to think of elemental manipulation."

So that was when she got stuck with tree walking. Also a lot harder than she assumed. Everytime she went up a step, she got blasted right off. It was down right degrading. Her eyebrow was twitching in irritation, Shisui's laughter as he lounged on top of the tree behind her was not helping. She was wondering whether it was possible to temporarily change her affinity to fire; after all, she would like nothing better than to set both this irritating tree, and her even more irritating roommate, on fire.

"Uh… Shisui? What is it that I'm doing wrong exactly?"

"Oh I'm sorry, I can't hear anything. Did you say something?" Shisui asked sarcastically.

"Ugh _fine._ Oh great and wise _Shisui-kun_ , help me… _please_." She spat out vehemently.

Shisui grinned, Kami above he loved irritating this girl, "Well Naru-chan, you're putting too much chakra into it. You have… well an enormous amount of chakra. Your control sucks because of it. The tree walking exercise helps you learn how to control it. Put too much chakra into your feet and you get blasted off. Too little, and you won't stick. The easiest way is to start off running. Empty your mind Naru-chan, let your instincts guide you."

* * *

"Hey Sasuke." Naruto whispered to the boy seated next to her. She had spent the entirety of the previous day trying to learn how to climb the damn tree, and she was only a quarter of the way up. She was starting to believe that this entire so-called "exercise" was made up by Shisui for some type of twisted and sick amusement.

"What Dobe?" He whispered back, his eyes not straying from Iruka-sensei.

"Do you think Shisui misses the ANBU?" Naruto asked quietly. It's no secret that Shisui is recently retired from the ANBU forces, he is after all, nationally recognized for being the youngest ninja to ever make Captain.

Sasuke turned his inquisitive gaze onto the blond, "What brought this on?"

Naruto wrung her fingers nervously, "It's just that, well, I noticed Itachi-kun going on all these cool secretive missions, while Shisui is stuck staying home. You know how much he loves all that excitement, and it can't be easy to see your best friend going on all of the missions that you can't anymore."

Sasuke sighed, "Naruto, Shisui is still injured from his last mission. He's still not medically cleared for active duty yet."

"I know, but it's still not the same as ANBU."

"Did you know that most ANBU soldiers only stay in the forces for five years? Five years maximum, I mean. After that, it really starts to deteriorate your mental state. Shisui was active for eight whole years before the Hokage had to step in and retire his mask." Sasuke explained.

"Shisui was an ANBU for _eight years?_ " She said incredulously. Woah. No wonder her roommate was all messed up in the head.

Sasuke nodded, "There's a reason every ninja around respects him so much, despite the fact that he's only fifteen."

"That's insane. Do you know what sector he was stationed under?" Naruto asked. In the ANBU, there were a plethora of squads and sectors one could fall under. A known example would be the Torture and Interrogation Unit.

Sasuke shook his head, "It's classified. But I have my own theories."

"Which are?" Naruto prompted.

"Personally? I think Shisui was a member of the Assassination Unit."

"WHAT?!"

"Naruto and Sasuke! Detention! AGAIN!" Iruka cried.

Sasuke shot a glare at the blond, while Naruto just slammed her head on the table, "Oh fucking hell."

* * *

A week passed in relative peace. Naruto had finally, _finally_ , learned how to climb the damned tree. She celebrated by bursting into her apartment with a smile and an arm full of ramen.

"Dear Shisui-kun, I've done it! I have conquered the fucking tree from hell!" She exclaimed happily.

Shisui, who was lounging on the couch with a folder full of papers, looked up in surprise, "I'm glad to hear that Naru-chan."

Naruto halted her actions. Dropping all the ramen onto the counter, she marched up to the elite jonin, "Ok what's up?"

Shisui raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

"By now you should be giving me one of your annoyingly boyish grins, with your eyes twinkling in happiness. Your eyes aren't twinkling, and I can't even see your dimples with that pathetic smile. So, what's wrong?"

Shisui sighed, he really was spending _way_ too much time with the young girl, "I've been medically cleared for active duty. My first mission back starts tomorrow."

Naruto's eyes widened. Nervously, she asked, "When… uh, how long is the mission?"

"Two months."

"That long! But you _just_ got back from a five-month long mission!" She exclaimed.

"Naruto, trust me when I say I'm not saying this to sound narcissistic, but I'm one of the best jonin there is. More importantly, I'm a skilled jonin who's actually _good_ at undercover work, unlike the rest of my peers. So yeah, I'm usually needed for long term undercover missions. Because if I don't do them, well, there aren't many other choices the Hokage can send out." The Uchiha explained.

Naruto shuffled her feet, her eyes staring firmly on the ground, "I've gotten used to you here."

Shisui grinned, ruffling the younger girls hair in the process, "I'll miss you too Naru-chan. Just think of it like this, these two months that I'm away will give you plenty of time to master water walking!"

Naruto stared at the boy in confusion, "What the _fuck_ is water walking?


	7. A Precious Girl

"Ok Uzumaki," Naruto whispered to herself, "You can do this."

Tentatively, the 10 year old academy student placed one foot on the surface of the water, only to trip and fall in with a sudden splash. "Damn you Shisui! Damn you to hell!" She called out, despite knowing that the older jonin was somewhere deep in Iwa territory by now.

It has been a full month since Shisui left for some top secret undercover mission; and in that month, Naruto had yet to even begin mastering water walking. It was not from a lack of trying, after all, Naruto has been persistently attempting to learn this blasphemous form of chakra control ever since Shisui described it to her before he left. Only now she was realizing how much more difficult it is to learn something without Shisui's supervision and hints.

She had taken Shisui's expertise for granted, despite the idiotic boy being a complete insufferable pain in the neck, he was also a really good sensei. She had grown accustomed to his helpful hints hidden beneath teasing words.

But she wasn't going to fail. She had promised her roommate that she would have this completely down by the time he came back, so Kami help her she was going to do it!

Sighing, Naruto cast a sorrowful glance towards the lake. It's been a full month, yet still she hadn't improved. Perhaps what she needed was some real motivation. That was when she got the idea to relocate her training to a near by hot springs; perhaps the threat of falling into piping hot water might force her to improve.

* * *

"I hate my life." Naruto muttered as she spat out the boiling hot water that had taken residence in her mouth. She had been at it for three whole hours, and while she had improved to the point where can place at least one foot on the surface, she was still far behind mastery.

Before she could make another attempt, a high pitched giggling stopped her. Glancing around nervously, Naruto was dismayed at not being able to place the source of the odd sound.

"He he he." There it was again. Naruto followed the laughter, only to find a man submerged inside of a bush, the only part of his body visible being his waist long white hair, his red haori, and a large scroll strapped to his back.

"Watcha doin?" She asked loudly, confused as to why the older man felt it necessary to bury himself in shrubbery while giggling to himself oddly.

Quickly, the man exited the bush, his eyes round in panic, throwing a hand to cover the young girls mouth. "Shhhh!" He commanded, throwing his gaze around nervously, "I can't be caught!"

Naruto licked her captors hand, grinning victoriously when the old man withdrew it in disgust, "Caught doing what?"

The white-haired man sighed, running his hand down his face in annoyance, "I'm doing research for my novel. Now shhhhh, and let me get back to it."

"You wrote a novel? What kind of novel?" Naruto asked curiously, her head tilted to the side adorably.

The old man grinned as he stood up with a flourish, mysteriously taking out a book from who knows where, and throwing it to the young blond. _He must be a powerful ninja_ , Naruto thought, _only strong jonin have the power to summon books from no where_.

Naruto widened her eyes when she glanced upon the orange cover, "That's not a novel! That's just porn!"

The author quickly ducked beneath the bush, harshly whispering through gritted teeth, "For the love of Kami, would you keep your voice down!"

Naruto sweat-dropped, following his gaze behind the shrubbery to find a hot springs full of scantily clad women, "Are you… _spying_ on naked women?"

"No no no," the man shook his head, "Spying is such an ugly word. I'm doing research for my novel is all."

"You're a pervert." She deadpanned.

"No, I'm a super pervert!" He exclaimed.

Naruto rolled her eyes, "I swear to Kami, all powerful ninja have something _seriously_ wrong with them."

The white-haired man set his gaze on the young academy student, "How did you know I'm powerful?"

"Only powerful ninja have the ability to mysteriously summon books from no where, so I'm assuming you're powerful. Am I wrong?" She asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"That you are not! I am the powerful Toad Mountain Sage, one of the Sennin of Konoha, the Great Jiraiya!" He introduced himself with an idiotic dance.

"Right…" Naruto was starting to wonder if she had some sort of beacon that attracted weird ninja's towards her, "Well Ero-Sennin, you have two choices. Either you help me master this infernal water walking, or I will scream off the top of my lungs that you're peeking on women."

"Are you… _blackmailing_ me?" Jiraiya asked incredulously. Really, this little blond girl sure had nerve.

"Yup. For sure. 100 percent. So will you do it?" Naruto confirmed, nodding in affirmation.

"I'm only in town for a few days," Jiraiya admitted, "I have no time to help some academy brat."

"Let me guess, you're too busy 'conducting research'?" Naruto mocked.

"What's an academy student doing learning how to water walk anyways?" The Toad Sage questioned. He was only here for a few days in order to pass some information to his old sensei, but last he heard, Naruto was a below-average academy student with no dedication in improving her mediocre skills.

Naruto sighed as she thought of how to answer him. She didn't know the old man, but he was strong, and more importantly, a stranger. It wouldn't hurt telling him the truth, "My bastard of a roommate went on a two-month long mission, and before he left, he made me promise to learn water walking. It's been a month already and I haven't made any improvement."

Jiraiya's eyes widened slightly. Why did his Goddaughter have a roommate? Why was this roommate a ninja? Why was he _male?!_

"Your, uh _roommate_ , is training you?" He asked incredulously. He was going to find this ninja, and he was going to kill him.

Naruto nodded as she flipped through the orange book that Ero-Sennin threw at her, "He is. As annoying as he can be, he's actually a pretty decent sensei. But the fact of the matter is, I'm stuck without his guidance, and there's no way I'm going to admit defeat. So are you going to help me, or should I test just how powerful justifiably angry civilian girls could be?"

Jiraiya waved his hands nervously, "Oh come on, there's no need for that! I'm just a poor, insanely good looking, older man! I wasn't kidding when I said that I didn't have time to teach you how to water walk. Surely you can find it in your heart to-"

"Five." Naruto interrupted, beginning the countdown.

"Oh come on brat! I gave you a free book! I'll even sign it for you!" He stammered anxiously.

"Four." She continued, not looking the least bit affected.

"What else do you want, huh? A pretty doll perhaps?" He continued to beg.

Naruto narrowed her eyes in annoyance, "Three."

The Toad Sage was starting to sweat, "Money?! Is money what you want!?"

"Two."

"Ok _fine!_ Fine! You win, you vindictive little brat." Jiraiya cried out in resignation, "I'll teach you how to water walk."

Naruto grinned victoriously, "Great! Come on Ero-Sennin, we only have a month left!"

Jiraiya sighed, following the young blond who was skipping ahead, "I regret this already."

* * *

Shisui Uchiha cursed silently as he wrapped another bandage around his bicep. He had been undercover in Iwa for the last month, until he finally received intel on a smuggling operation that was occurring tonight. After collecting the important information, Shisui sent word to the Konoha team positioned right outside the Iwa border, letting them know that it was time to make their move. Attacking the base, the Konoha team was successful in stopping the current operation, only to uncover an even deeper smuggling network in the process.

Currently, his team was camped outside of the Iwa borders, as he wrapped his wounds up tightly. He never did trust anyone else to take care of his injuries; with the exception of one blond girl, of course.

"Hey Shisui," Genma called out as he exited his tent, "How've you been man? Haven't seen you for the last six months or so."

"What are you talking about? I saw you at the bar with Anko and Kurenai only a few weeks ago." Shisui asked in confusion.

"Yeah, but you looked a little busy flirting with Kurenai, so I didn't want to interrupt." Genma teased, waggling his eyebrows.

Shisui rolled his eyes, "Why does everybody think that I'm a flirt?"

"Because you are." His friend deadpanned.

"Ugh it's not even worth it."

"So why were you gone for so long anyways?"

Shisui shrugged, "I was on a long term mission, only got back a month ago."

"You've been in the village for an entire month?" Genma asked in surprise. It was no secret that Shisui was an accomplished jonin, it was even less of a secret that he was also a workaholic, spending more time on obscure missions then he did at home.

"Forced medical leave." Shisui simply explained.

"Ah," Genma nodded, "Makes sense."

"Speaking of which, I heard you moved in with Guy a few months back." Shisui remembered. He'd actually been meaning to ask his friend about that, but Genma was a busy ninja himself. Despite only being a chunin, he was the perfect support ninja in missions such as these.

"Yeah, rent in the building was getting _way_ too expensive. The land lady is kind of a bitch." Genma answered.

Shisui snorted in agreement, "You got that right."

Genma eyed his friend suspiciously, "How did you hear about that anyways?"

The Uchiha was famous for many reasons, his ability to keep his cool under pressure being one of the more important ones. Shrugging, he answered candidly, "I tried looking for you when I got back, but one of your neighbors told me that you moved in with, and I quote; your 'green-freak of a boy-toy across town.' I took that to mean that you moved in with Guy."

Genma sighed, "Let me guess, did this neighbor also refer to me as 'the weird long-haired dude with an unhealthy oral fixation'?"

Shisui refrained from laughter, Naruto was just absolutely precious, "Yes, yes she did."

"I see you met Naruto. Nice girl, _slightly_ questionable choice of language though."

"What do you mean by that?" Shisui asked, seemingly innocently.

"The girl is ten, and already can curse better than any seasoned veteran I've ever seen. Seriously, I've probably only spent a total of five minutes in her company, and already I've learned several different curse word variations." Genma admitted.

Shisui covered his laugh with a cough, "Sounds like she's an interesting girl."

The chunin nodded, "Even when you don't consider the fact that she's our jinchuriki, she's definitely a special girl. And maaan, she's going to be quite the looker when she grows up."

The small smile on Shisui's face was quickly wiped off, "She's ten."

"Well, yeah, I know, but that doesn't change the fact that in approximately six years from now, I'm totally going to ask her out."

Shisui felt the odd need to grab his kunai, "It's a good thing the girl is smart enough to not want anything to do with a guy who has an oral fixation."

Genma rolled his eyes, "Yeah yeah yeah, make fun of me now, but mark my words. Six years from now, she's going to be an absolute knock out."

* * *

Jiraiya was seriously cursing the day he agreed to come back to Konoha. His Goddaughter, while adorable, and precious, and a perfect mixture between his student and his favorite red-head; was an absolute pain.

She had a stamina unlike any other, able to exert herself for hours more than any other regular ninja. In the month that he had been unwittingly training her, he had learned next to nothing about her mysterious roommate, but practically everything about literally anything else. He knew her favorite ramen, she enjoyed dragging him to Ichiraku Ramen almost everyday. He knew everything about her classmates, having to hear multiple rants such as, "Temi is such a freaking idiot!", and, "Kami above if Ino doesn't shut up!"

But as annoying as he found Naruto to be, he found her even more amusing. Her anecdotes on common occurrences made him wheeze in laughter, her pranks pulled on various important clans had him wipe away tears of joy, and her sexy jutsu? Needless to say he practically bowed at her feet for that accomplishment.

Which was why, at the end of the month, when Naruto was finally able to perform katas on top the water without a single ripple, he was both happy and sad. He was glad the girl had finally accomplished her goal, but he was also incredibly disappointed in the fact that he was unable to teach her for much longer.

He had a job to do; the spy network doesn't run itself after all. He had spent more time than permitted already by agreeing to teach Naruto, originally he was supposed to be out of Fire Country three weeks ago. However he made a promise to his Goddaughter, so he stayed until he was sure that she had perfected the task set forth by her roommate.

"Good job brat!" Jiraiya called out, "You finally mastered the art of water walking."

"YES!" Naruto cried out, running back to shore, "I am a genius! Thank you Ero-Sennin!"

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Yeah, I really am a great sensei."

"When I said to master water walking in two months," A warm, sultry voice interrupted, "I didn't mean that you should recruit a Sennin to help you."

Jiraiya quickly turned to face the voice, surprised to see the prodigy Uchiha standing there in standard jonin uniform, a grin spread across his face.

Naruto crossed her arms in mock anger, "Yeah, well you're the idiot that told a ten year old to learn a Genin skill, and then left without leaving any proper instructions."

Shisui chuckled as he reached over to tussle the blonds hair, "Well I knew how resourceful you could be. Although I must say, convincing Jiraiya-sama to teach you is certainly a surprise."

Naruto blinked in confusion, "Ok, I get that Ero-Sennin is a powerful ninja and all, but did you just add 'sama' to his name?"

"Oy Brat!" Jiraiya interrupted, "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm deserving of respect?"

Naruto ignored the old man, returning her attentions to the Uchiha instead, "He's just a pervert!"

"A pervert he may be," Shisui admitted, ignoring Jiraiya's insulted cries, "But he was also the sensei of the Fourth Hokage."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, "You taught the Yondaime!"

Jiraiya puffed out his chest narcissistically, "I did."

Shisui smiled suspiciously, "In fact, back when I used to work with Minato-sensei's squad during the Third Shinobi War, he used to mention Jiraiya-sama quite often."

"Woah, how come I never knew this?"

Shisui shot a look towards the younger girl, "Perhaps because you never pay attention during history class."

"Oh yeah." Naruto said sheepishly.

"Naruto," Jiraiya called, "I want to talk to your roommate here for a minute. Here's some money, treat yourself to some ramen."

"Sweet!" Naruto took the money before running off, "See you at home Shisui-kun!"

The smiles that adorned the two ninjas faces slipped off as they regarded one another seriously, "You worked under Minato during the war?" Jiraiya asked.

Shisui nodded, "Only briefly. I had an advanced Sharingan that his team needed for a few missions, so I was recruited to help."

"You've spent quite a bit of time with my student then?" Jiraiya probed.

"I did. Not as much time as I spent with Kushina-née though. We were assigned to the same assassination squad towards the end of the war." He admitted.

Jiraiya's widened in understanding. There was only one reason for Shisui to bring up Kushina, "You know then?"

"That Naruto is their daughter? I do. Minato often spoke about The Tale of an Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, so I would recognize the name 'Naruto' anywhere. Besides, she even has her mothers last name, it's a wonder how nobody else seemed to put this together."

Jiraiya sighed, "As you know, very few people knew about the marriage between Minato and Kushina. I'm surprised that you're one of them."

Shisui shrugged, "Like I said, we were close. I think Kushina-née liked to take care of me because of my age, there weren't many four year olds on the front lines of war after all."

"I'm sure I don't have to warn you of the dangers that would follow Naruto if word about her parentage were to get out?"

Shisui snorted, "You forget that I was a witness of the massacre that Minato lay on Iwa. I care for Naruto, no harm will come to her as long as I'm around."

Jiraiya smiled, "I'm trusting you with the life and health of my Goddaughter. Don't screw it up."

Grasping the older mans hand, Shisui promised, "I won't."


	8. An Amusement

Shisui Uchiha was world renowned for his genius. Very few people could claim to share his level of sheer intellect and brilliance. His situational awareness was unparalleled by even the most skilled of ninja. So when his adorable little roommate started sulking as she slurped her ramen, Shisui knew that something was up.

"Okay Naru-chan, what's wrong?" Shisui asked, plopping onto the seat in front of her.

The young blond sighed dramatically as she slumped into her seat, "It's the academy."

The older boy tilted his head to the side in confusion, "What about it?"

The Uzumaki used her chopsticks to absentmindedly twirl the noodles around the bowl, "Today was Family Day."

"Family Day," Shisui mused, "Is that when the students family come to the academy and meet the teachers?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, and well, despite it happening every year, it always serves to remind me that I'm the only one there with no family to speak of."

Shisui felt a pang of pain hit his chest. Kushina-née would hate this, he knew. He worked with his roommates mother quite extensively during the war, after all, the very few members of the assassination squad tended to bond over their mutual horrors. He knew both Minato-sensei and Kushina-née well enough to realize how much they would hate to see their daughter suffering in this state.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He questioned, "If I knew it was Family Day, I would have gone with you. We're family after all."

Naruto smiled at her roommate, "Thanks Shisui-kun, but you only came back from your mission an hour ago. How would you have come?"

Shisui's eyes widened in realization. Ever since he's been cleared for missions 6 months ago, he's been taking them constantly, getting back into his usual workaholic flow. Barring the first mission which took two months, the rest were relatively short, taking two weeks at most. It was the sheer quantity of them though, which left the young jonin constantly busy.

"You're more important than any mission Naru-chan." Shisui declared. He swore to himself that he would ask Sasuke next year to tell him the date for Family Day. There was no way he was going to miss it again.

* * *

"Ok, so what did I just sign?" Shisui asked his eager pupil.

"Uhh…" Naruto thought deeply, "You just signed, 'I am Shisui Uchiha the great, welcome to my humble abode'?"

"Correct!" Shisui exclaimed with a grin, "Soon enough, you'll be completely fluent in ANBU hand signs!"

"Remind me again why we're teaching them this?" Itachi asked with a drawl from his seat next to Sasuke.

"Oy, Boy Toy, stop trying to ruin my fun!" Naruto cried. She was having a great time learning ANBU hand signs, it was a great advantage to have. The ability to speak to her only three friends secretly, and seriously how sad is it that her only friends consisted of three emotionally stunted Uchiha's, was a great advantage.

"Naruto, stop being an idiot." Sasuke signed.

"Once you stop being an utter bastard, I'll consider it." Naruto signed back with a grin.

Itachi rolled his eyes as Shisui grinned proudly, "Was it completely necessary to teach them the curse words too?"

Shisui looked affronted as he replied, "Well of course! If these adorable little ducklings ever get into ANBU, they should know the colloquial hand signs as well as the standard. It's just forward thinking."

"Right," Itachi sighed, "I suppose you have a point. Although we can get into quite a bit of trouble if it's ever discovered that we taught two academy students standard ANBU code. No one outside of the ANBU has ever learned it."

Shisui waved the younger boy away dismissively, "Meh meh, you're thinking too much about it. As long as they don't go around signing in front of the Hokage, we'll be completely fine."

* * *

"Hokage-sama, you called for me?" Shisui greeted as he walked into his superiors office.

"Ah, yes Shisui, I'm glad you that you're here. I have another mission for you. An S-ranked." Hiruzen said, handing the young jonin a file.

Shisui raised a brow, he had only gotten back from his last mission a few days ago, yet here he was, asked to go on yet another one. "What's the mission?"

"I understand you have just gotten back from a mission," Hiruzen said, "But this one requires your specific… _talents_."

Shisui knew what that meant. He felt his face lose its characteristic grin, replacing it with a solemn look, "Who's the target?"

Sarutobi grimaced. He never liked sending Shinobi on assassination missions, _especially_ one as young as Shisui, but the Uchiha was one of his best. He's been doing it since the tender age of four, after all. "His name is Yuri Ataka."

Shisui's eyes widened, "Understood." The Uchiha had run into this target quite often over the years, beginning from his time during the war. Yuri Ataka was a skilled jonin from Iwa, an S-ranked ninja that caused havoc amongst the Konoha camps during the war. When they first met, Ataka had just been attempting to sneak into the Shisui's camp in order to demolish it. While the rest of the Shinobi were sleeping, the Uchiha was able to find the foreign nin, and almost succeeded in slitting his throat if not for the fact that Ataka was able to make a split second getaway. Since then, the two have been constantly at odds, running into each other on a plethora of missions, and always ending in a large-scale fight. In fact, the last time they had run into each other, Yuri slashed open his chest, causing Shisui to be injured enough to mistakenly climb through the window of a young blond jinchuriki.

It seemed as though the Hokage wanted Yuri gone once and for all. He had been causing problems for many of Konoha's squad, having a resentment towards the leaf village from his time in the war. Unlike most Iwa-nin, his resentment wasn't directed towards the Yondaime, but towards Shisui instead. After all, this powerful child was able to leave a grotesque scar stretching across his neck.

Many people found it odd that 15 year old Shisui Uchiha was able to go head-to-head with an S-Rank ninja, but then again, most people didn't know that according to a plethora of bingo books, Shisui was S-ranked himself.

"The mission will take approximately a year. I need the man gone, but I need his information more. You will go undercover in Iwa, collect information on their operations, and assassinate your target. Please get ready to leave next week." The Hokage said dismissively.

"A year, sir?" Shisui asked, "Isn't that too long?"

"We need all the information we can get, and frankly, other than Jiraiya you're our only active S-ranked ninja. You're the only one powerful enough to do this, and if you're going to succeed me, you need important missions like this under your belt."

Shisui nodded, "I understand sir. I will leave first thing Monday."

* * *

"I'm leaving."

"What?" Naruto asked, almost falling off of the barstool in shock.

Shisui had just come back from his meeting with the Hokage, so he decided the first thing he would do would be to take out his adorable little roommate for some ramen.

"On a mission. It'll take a year for me to finish." Shisui cut right to the chase.

Naruto's eyes widened, "A year? But that's so long! What could possibly take that long?!"

Shisui grimaced, "I'm sorry Naru-chan, it's confidential. What I can tell you, however, is that I'll finally be able to get revenge on the guy who sliced up my chest a few months back."

Naruto could never forget the night that Shisui first broke in, and she definitely couldn't forget the grotesque sight of his wound that stretched across his chest as she wrapped it. With a firm nod, Naruto spoke, "Get revenge, for the both of us. That bastard hurt you, make sure he'll never be able to again."

Shisui grinned proudly as he tussled her hair, "That's my Naru-chan."

* * *

If Shisui Uchiha was slightly more aggressive during training today, well no one was suicidal enough to comment on it.

"Yo Shisui, what crawled up your ass?" Except Genma apparently, the idiot never knew how to take proper social cues.

Shisui directed his active sharingan towards his sendon wielding friend, shooting him a look of utter distaste. "What?" He bit out, annoyed at the interruption to his training.

Shisui often trained with other ninjas, needing more practice fighting shinobi that didn't include Itachi. Usually he took these sessions pretty easy, being more experienced and powerful then his fellow ninjas, he tended to pull his punches. Today though, he completely obliterated each and every single one of his opponents within 15 seconds, and when he realized that they wouldn't give him a challenge, he proceeded to pound on his Kage Bunshins instead.

"You're scaring us poor Chunin," Genma remarked, "It's always terrifying to be reminded of a veterans prowess. Now, what's wrong?"

Shisui ran a hand through his hair, "I'm going on a mission."

Genma eyed his friend, "You're always going on a mission. You're literally the most work obsessed person I know. But why does that put you in a bad mood?"

"It's a year long one." He said.

"Okay… That's pretty long, but you've been on plenty of long term missions, what's different about this one?" Genma questioned.

Shisui sighed, "It's just bad timing." Here his roommate was all depressed about her lack of family, yet he was forced to leave for a year. Without him here, who would be there for her to laugh at her jokes, high five her when she manages a great prank, to smile at her when she manages to get a jutsu right?

"What, did you finally get a girlfriend or something?" Genma asked mockingly.

Shisui shot the older boy a glare, "What do you mean by _finally_?"

Genma shrugged, "You might be the biggest flirt I know, but you never actually settle down with _one_ woman. Jumping from woman to woman, sure. Actually commit? Never."

"I could commit," Shisui grumbled unconvincingly.

"Mhmm," Genma hummed, "I'll believe it when I see it kid."

* * *

After their training, Genma and Shisui decided to go out for a quick lunch. Going into their usual barbecue restaurant, they weren't surprised to see Asuma there, the older jonin practically lived there. What was a surprise, however, was the fact that he was currently having lunch with Kurenai.

Shisui's eyebrows raised in surprise, before a large smirk spread across his features, "Oh? Well isn't this interesting…"

Genma followed his line of sight, "Since when have Asuma and Kurenai been friendly?"

"I have no idea," Shisui said in amusement, "But I'm going to find out."

With that, Shisui sauntered over to their table, sliding into the booth next to Kurenai, as Genma slid in next to Asuma, "Well hello there dear friends! I wasn't aware that the lovely Miss. Kurenai was aquatinted with Smokey-smokerson over here."

Asuma sighed, running a hand across his face. He liked the young Uchiha, he was funny, amusing, and extraordinarily powerful… But he could also be a complete pain in the neck. Especially with his specific flirting habits.

"Shisui-san!" Kurenai exclaimed, surprised to see the good looking jonin beside her, "Um, I was just on a mission with Asuma-san, and he asked me to lunch to celebrate our success."

Shisui and Genma both grinned at the girls innocence, "Well of course! That's Asuma for you, always cordial. Always thinking of his subordinates, what a great superior he is!"

"Asuma is _sooo_ sweet isn't he! You know Kurenai, us chunins all look up to Asuma. Almost like a father figure to us really." Genma chimed in with a devious smirk.

Shisui stifled his laughter, "I assume that Asuma invited you out of the goodness of his own heart. He always does like looking out for us younger kids."

Asuma glared at the Uchiha, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance, "Shisui, are you here for a reason?"

Shisui shrugged as he leaned back into his seat, "We just got finished training, so he decided to get some food."

With a mischievous smirk, Shisui flexed his bicep, before sending a flirtatious glance towards Kurenai, "Do you see a difference Kurenai?"

Kurenai blushed as Shisui invaded her personal space, his handsome features enough to make any woman weak. Before Asuma could reach across the table and throttle the younger man, a loud giggle interrupted, "You know, for such an incorrigible flirt, it's actually super pathetic to watch."

The table of ninjas looked to see a small blond girl standing besides them, an amused smirk stretching her whisker marks.

"Hey Naruto! Long time no see!" Genma called with a smile, happy to see his old neighbor.

"Hey it's Unhealthy Oral Fixation! I haven't seen you since you moved in with your bat-shit crazy green tights wearing boy toy." Naruto greeted.

Asuma spat out his food in laughter, as Kurenai choked in surprise. Shisui just leaned back in amusement, while Genma just sighed. Really the older man should have seen it coming.

"I'm sorry, did this little academy student say that you have an oral fixation? And that you've moved in with your tights wearing boyfriend?" Asuma asked incredulously while laughing.

Genma sighed once more, "For the thousandth time Naruto, my name is Genma, not Unhealthy Oral Fixation. And while we're on that, I _don't_ have an oral fixation!"

Naruto just looked at him as if she didn't believe the man, "Then why do you always have to have something in your mouth? It's not something to be ashamed of, I'm sure your boyfriend really appreciates that quality of yours."

The laughter that rang out actually made Genma blush a little. Shisui by far was the most amused, his shoulders shaking in mirth. "AGAIN! He's not my boyfriend, he's my old teammate!"

"Oh wow, you guys must have started your relationship pretty young. I mean, to start dating as Genin the two of you must be really committed to each other." Naruto surmised.

Genma just slammed his head down on the table, there was no winning with this girl, "I'd just like to stress, for the last time, Guy is not my boyfriend, he's just my roommate. Just because I'm living with a person, it doesn't mean that they're my lover."

Naruto hummed for bit, "You're right about that. The bond between roommates is sacred after all."

"Oh no no, don't stop now, it's just getting good. Please, tell us more about how Genma and Guy are lovers." Asuma prodded. He believed this was perfect vengeance for Genma's annoying remarks earlier.

Naruto grinned as she realized what Asuma was trying to do. Maybe she might even throw him a bone, and make his amusement even greater, "Well of course they're lovers! Any two men who spend that much time together _have_ to be lovers, just like Shisui and Itachi-kun!"

This time, it was Shisui turn to look unamused, "For kami's sake Naru-chan, Itachi and I aren't lovers."

"Then how come you spend so much time together?" Naruto asked with pseudo-innocence.

Shisui smirked, "Because he's my little cousin. Speaking of my family, how come you spend so much time with little Sasuke? Does that mean he's your lover?"

Naruto turned red at the insinuation, "Oh FUCK NO! Don't even try to start that! As if I would touch that Teme with a ten foot pole!"

Kurenai interrupted meekly, "Uh, how old is this girl exactly? And why does she know more curse words than me?"

Genma laughed as he made introductions, "Guys, this is Naruto Uzumaki, she was my neighbor until I moved in with Guy. Naruto, these are Asuma, Kurenai, and it seems as if you already know Shisui."

Shisui nodded, "We met after my five-month long mission. I swung by Genma's place but couldn't find him, so Naru-chan here told me where to find him." He explained to Asuma and Kurenai.

"Yeah I already know these two." Naruto responded.

Kurenai and Asuma exchanged glances, before the girl asked, "You know us? I don't believe we've ever met."

Naruto just smiled, "Well, I've seen you guys around the village, although I just referred to you as Weird-Red-Eyed-Girl-Who's-Not-A-Uchiha and Mini-Jiji."

"Okay, I get Kurenai's nickname, but Mini-Jiji? Why?" Asuma questioned.

"You're Hogake-jiji's son, right? So Mini-Jiji!" She explained.

Genma just sweat dropped, "You call the most powerful man in the village jiji?"

Naruto shrugged, "Well he's old! Plus, following that logic, that means that someday I'm going to have to show Mr.I-Swear-I'm-A-Hokage-Candidate over here respect some day, and that's just never going to happen."

Kurenai turned quickly to look at Shisui, "You're a candidate for Hokage?"

Even Asuma and Genma looked surprised at that announcement, "Are you serious?" The smoke loving jonin questioned.

Shisui shrugged, "That's what they tell me."

"That's amazing." Kurenai remarked. Shisui couldn't help but send a triumphant grin towards Asuma, who almost growled at the cheeky bastard.

"Anywho, my lunch break is almost over, I got to get back to the Academy. Nice speaking to you all!" Naruto said, waving as she left the restaurant.

"Well that girl is certainly amusing." Asuma remarked.

Shisui and Genma nodded in agreement. Naruto Uzumaki certainly was amusing.

* * *

Naruto skipped all the way back to the Academy, a grin spread across her features. She always appreciated any opportunity to make fun of Shisui. "Oy, Dobe. Why are you smiling like an idiot?" Sasuke asked from his position sitting on a high branch.

"None of you business Teme!" Naruto said while sticking out her tongue, "Let me guess, you're hiding out from your fan girls again?"

Sasuke grimaced, "Unfortunately. They're absolutely relentless."

Naruto laughed, "Wow, it must suck being you. Good luck!"

The Uchiha glared at the blonds back as she made her way inside the building. Really, he didn't see what his brother and precious cousin saw in the annoying girl. She was loud, ridiculous, weak, and an absolute foul mouthed pain in the ass. Yet here Shisui was, a strong S-ranked veteran, practically living with the girl. It made absolutely no sense.

Just as his thoughts turned to Shisui, the man in questioned Shunshinned in front of him, "Hey Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke fell out of his tree with an undignified plop, "Dang it Shisui! A little warning next time!"

Shisui rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry there Sasu-chan. I need a favor."

Sasuke stopped rubbing his head in pain as he glared at his older cousin, "What kind of favor?"

Shisui's features turned solemn, "I'm leaving on a year long mission."

"Itachi told me." Sasuke replied.

"Look Sasuke, Naruto's an orphan. She has no family, and outside of the three of us, she has no friends. Without me here, and with Itachi always busy with the ANBU, you're the only one who could look after her. So I need you to that. Look after Naruto for me, okay?"

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise, before a determined look entered his eyes, "I will Shisui. She might be a pain, but she's important to you. That makes her important to me. I'll look after her while you're gone, I swear to you no harm will come to her."


	9. A Year Apart

Everybody in Iwa loved young Kaoru. A kind traveling merchant who went around the Nations selling all different kinds of spices, Kaoru was a favorite of housewives all over. His charming smile and good looks certainly helped him with that aspect.

He had a small spice cart set up at the end of Merchant Valley, the large stretch of road which housed tents and carts of all shapes and sizes, selling almost anything one could think of. Kaoru didn't have a large selection of spices, but he certainly had the most unique. Cumin from Kumo, black pepper from Kemu, salt from Suna. The selection was one of a kind.

This wasn't the first time young Kaoru came to the village. He often travelled across the hidden villages, scouring the world for the best selection of product, and more importantly, the best market to sell them to. Each time he would come, girls would flock towards Merchant Valley, all with the hopes of catching the attention of the successful merchant and his boyish smile. His popularity was unyielding.

"Thank you! Please come again!" Kaoru called after the kind housewife who had just purchased a years supply of spices… for the third time this month. Glancing at the position of the sun, he realized it was time to close up shop. So he went through the tedious and monotonous actions of putting away all of his spices and folding up his cart, wheeling it to the small inn that he was currently staying at.

The next morning was Sunday, a day that the entirety of Iwa decided was unfit for shopping, thereby rendering Merchant Valley uninhabited. So Kaoru whistled jovially as he made his way to a small shop in Main Street, where he met up with the same Real Estate Agent he had been in contact with for the last few weeks.

"Here are the keys to your new shop, congratulations!" The woman spoke cheerfully, always happy to sell a new property. Kaoru grinned kindly, thanking her sincerely for all her help. He was excited to finally settle down for once. Iwa was to finally be his home.

* * *

Naruto grimaced in confusion as Sasuke wordlessly sat beside her at the academy. Not in his usual seat next to the window, not as far as humanly possible from any and all fangirls… but next to her instead. The class was empty, there was no end to where he could choose to sit. Why next to her?

Naruto blinked.

"Umm… Teme?" Naruto questioned, her tone full of disbelief.

Sasuke sneered as he responded, his eyes never leaving the front of the classroom, "I'm just using you as a buffer against the fangirls, don't think anything of it."

The blond rolled her eyes, "Listen here Teme. I am _not_ some type of wall you can use to block out your fangirls. Go back to your regular spot and let Ino and Sakura fight over you before they come to some wild conclusion about-"

"NARUTO! HOW DARE YOU SIT NEXT TO SASUKE-KUN?! MOVE BAKA!" Sakura screeched as she approached the pair.

With a death glare directed towards the smirking boy besides her, she spoke softly, "I'm going to kill you, Teme."

* * *

Kaoru smiled charmingly at the pretty blond who sat in the barstool beside him, "So tell me, Akiko, is it hard being a ninja?"

The Iwa-nin blushed cutely as she responded, "Being a ninja is a lot of work, we are constantly training and taking missions. But in the end it's all worth it."

Kaoru placed his head in the palm of his hand as he gazed at the girl longingly, "Wow, that's amazing. I could never have that type of dedication."

"You were never interested in the shinobi arts?" She questioned.

Kaoru shook his head, "No no, nothing like that. My parents were merchants, their parents were merchants, their parents before were also merchants. Being a ninja never even crossed my mind."

"My parents were civilians as well," Akiko revealed, "But as a child I looked up to my older brother. He was the coolest guy I knew. He became jonin at a young age, and was a veteran of the Third Shinobi War, even surviving an interaction with the Fourth Hokage himself! I've wanted to be a shinobi ever since."

Kaoru grinned widely, his dimples flashing, as he raised a glass, "To accomplishing your dreams."

"Cheers."

* * *

Naruto had officially given up. Withholding the urge to slam her head against the wall repeatedly, she instead chose to let out a growl, "Who, _the fuck_ , let you in?" She had long ago placed a lock on her window when she realized just how easy it was for shinobi to break in, so he couldn't have come in through there.

Sasuke looked up calmly from his homework, which was sprawled haphazardly across her dining room table, as he answered, "Shisui gave me a spare key before he left."

Naruto breathed out through her nose, slowly counting to ten, "And _why_ did he give you a key?"

Sasuke shrugged as he returned to his assignment, "I'm not a mind reader Dobe."

"Then what are you doing here?"

The Uchiha clicked his tongue as he flipped through his textbook, "The Uchiha compound is too loud, my little cousins were distracting me from my homework."

Naruto groaned, "For the _billionth_ time Teme, my home is not some type of Uchiha safe house!"

"It's not?" A voice questioned from the doorway to her apartment. Naruto and Sasuke turned their heads to see the figure of one Itachi Uchiha strolling in with an arm full of files.

"Hey brother! I saved you a seat," Sasuke called, gesturing to the chair beside him.

"Thanks Sasuke," Itachi said kindly, poking him in the forehead as he took a seat and started on his paperwork.

Naruto seethed, "What the fuck am I?! Invisible?!"

"Hey Naru-chan," Itachi greeted with a small smile, "I apologize for the disturbance, but the compound really is too loud to get any work done."

"Let me guess, Shisui gave you a spare key as well?"

Itachi blinked, "Well… yeah."

Naruto threw up her hands, "That's it! I give up!"

"Hey Dobe, did you do today's assignment?" Sasuke questioned the blond once he realized that she was reading an orange-covered book and not starting her homework.

"Nope," She spoke, "And I don't plan on it."

Sasuke frowned, "It's worth a lot of credit."

Naruto shrugged, "I'm already dead last. Even if I magically get a perfect score on every assignment from now until graduation, I'm so far behind even Shikamaru that I'll still be considered dead last."

"But you would narrow the gap between you and the rest of your classmates," Itachi spoke, "I'm sure Sasuke would be happy to help you with your homework if you're having trouble."

"I would?" Sasuke questioned incredulously.

"You would," Itachi smiled threateningly, "After all, it's the least you could do after Naruto graciously let us stay at her apartment."

Naruto snorted as she mumbled, "Let you? You guys practically broke in."

Sasuke sighed, "I suppose you're right. Come on Naruto, bring your homework and we can go over it together."

Naruto scrunched up her nose in disgust, "Why would I ever agree to that?"

"Because Dobe, you need to know this information if you're ever going to be a shinobi."

"Right, like I'll need to know the trading laws of Iwa in a real life scenario," Naruto mocked, rolling her eyes.

"You never know, Naruto," Itachi said, "A lot of this so-called 'useless' information has really saved me over the years. You need to know this stuff."

Sasuke groaned, "Look Dobe, you're going to graduate and be a shinobi. It's obvious. But chances are, we're going to end up working together on some missions in the future, and I'd rather not have you slow me down with your lack of knowledge."

"Of course your only concern is about your future sanity," Naruto teased.

"Sasuke's questionable motivations aside," Itachi lectured, "He's still not wrong. You need to learn all this information. Just do your homework."

Naruto loudly groaned as she got off her couch to approach the table, "Fine, I'll do the damn homework. Fucking Uchiha's and their fucking 'concerns'."

Sasuke smirked victoriously as the blond sat beside him to read from his textbook, "Ok so this first question is about the trading policy regarding food items such as spices…"

* * *

"Spices! Get your international and unique spices here!" Kaoru called out from the front of his recently furnished shop, "Grand opening today get everything 10 percent off!"

Soon enough, his shop was filled with people of all kinds, civilians and ninja alike. Hiro, his new employee, came up to him in panic, "How much are we selling the oregano again?"

Kaoru apologized to the beautiful blond he had been chatting up with a smile, as he followed the scatterbrained Hiro to the cash register. "Don't forget Hiro, all prices for the spices are outlined in this book. It's all written in alphabetical order, so just go off that, ok?"

Hiro looked up at his boss with tears in his eyes, "Thanks boss!"

Kaoru ruffled the younger boys hair, "Anytime kid. Now go and sell these spices."

* * *

Naruto resisted the urge to close her eyes and fall asleep; Iruka was really trying to bore her to death with this lecture. On one side of her, Shikamaru had long since passed out, practically drooling on his textbook.

On the other side of her, Sasuke's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he poked Naruto in the shoulder. Looking at the raven haired Teme beside her, she signed under the table, "What the hell Teme!"

Sasuke quickly signed back, his hand hidden by the table, "Pay attention Dobe. Iruka sensei is going into detail about the First Hokage. I thought you loved stories about the Hokage's?"

Naruto rolled her eyes as she responded, her fingers contorting perfectly from her many hours of practice, "Well he's explaining it in the most boring way possible. How am I supposed to pay attention when his very voice wants to put me to sleep?"

Sasuke sighed. When Shisui told him to take care of the idiotic blond, he didn't realize it would be this difficult. Quickly, he signed back, "Then don't pay attention to him. Pay attention to me."

Naruto quirked a brow, but before she could ask, Sasuke quickly began signing. With wide unblinking eyes, she payed attention to the story Sasuke's hands were unraveling, detailing the majestic story of the founder of Konoha and his best friend Madara Uchiha. She gasped as Sasuke signed the harrowing battles he underwent, she giggled as she learned about his awkward proposal to Mito Uzumaki (who she was surprised to learn was probably her great aunt), she teared up as his fingers narrated the story of a final battle between two best friends.

"NARUTO! Are you paying attention!?" Iruka cried, realizing the blond hasn't looked up from her lap for the last hour or so.

Naruto jerked suddenly, "Y-yes I am!"

Iruka narrowed his eyes, "What was the name of Hashirama Senju's father?"

Naruto quickly thought back to the funny little anecdote Sasuke gave about living with three brothers, and she was able to answer, "His name is Butsuma Senju."

"That's… That's actually correct," Iruka stammered in surprise, "Make sure you continue to pay attention."

Naruto grinned widely as she nodded, "Don't worry sensei! I'll pay attention!"

Sasuke smirked, maybe the Dobe wasn't _completely_ idiotic.

* * *

The Hokage sighed deeply as he read the latest mission update from his future successor.

 _ **Ran into unexpected complications. Discovered a hidden operation of missing ninja from all over hiding in Iwa. They seem to operate under the guise of current Iwa ninja. Will attempt to collect further information. Requesting additional time for the mission.**_

 _ **-Shisui Uchiha**_

The young Jonin had already been gone for several months, and already he was requesting additional time to complete his mission. The Uchiha must have stumbled onto something major in Iwa, so with a reluctant sigh, he sent a scroll.

 _ **Additional time granted.**_

* * *

For Naruto's twelfth birthday, Itachi and Sasuke took the blond to her favorite place in the world: Ichiraku Ramen.

Naruto blinked adorably, her eyes filled with unshed tears, "Are you sure Itachi-kun?"

Itachi laughed as he poked the girl on her forehead, "Yes I'm sure. Eat as much as you want, it's on me."

He was surprised when the blond leapt into his arms, hugging him tightly, "Thank you so much."

He smiled, "You're welcome."

Sasuke sneered as he looked at them, "Honestly Naruto, you're the only girl in the world who gets this excited over ramen. It's actually-"

He was cut off as Naruto leaned over to hug him as well, "Thanks Teme."

Sasuke sighed, a soft smile creeping onto his face as he wrapped his arms around the blond, "Yeah yeah yeah, happy birthday Dobe."

* * *

Kaoru laughed kindly as he waved away his final customer of the day. The moment she left Kaoru alone in his new shop, the characteristic grin fell from his face as he reached for a scroll and pen.

 _ **Dear Hokage-sama,**_

 _ **I have settled quite well into my role here in Iwa, no one suspects me. I have made contact with the suspect…**_

… _**It looks like I will soon be able to come home. I'll update you when I collect new information.**_

 _ **-Shisui Uchiha**_

* * *

 _Where the hell is she?_ Naruto asked herself as she scoured Konoha. She wasn't on a mission she knew, Naruto had already gone to the front gates of the village to ask the eternal chunins Izumo and Kotetsu. Naruto had checked the dango stand multiple times, stalked the entrance of the Torture and Interrogation Unit, and even went near the Forest of Death, but the purple haired woman was no where to be found.

With a sigh, Naruto tried her luck at the barbecue restaurant. Anko was no where to be found, but Naruto _did_ spot someone else.

"Hey Mini-jiji!" Naruto called out, approaching the booth of the elder jonin, where he sat with a few of his friends.

Asuma chuckled as he put out his cigarette, "Hey Naruto, how can I help you kid?"

"You know this child?" Kakashi questioned incredulously.

"YOSH! How youthful!" Guy cried.

Naruto snapped her fingers, "Hey! It's White-Haired-Cyclops and Creepy-Green-Freak!"

Asuma burst out in laughter as his two friends just sweat-dropped, "I swear this girl is a riot."

"What did you just call me?" Kakashi questioned, his eyebrow twitching.

"HAHA! What humor! How youthful!" Guy cried, laughing at the nicknames.

Naruto scooted away from the green-loving Taijutsu master, "Oh Kami, you're even creepier up close."

Asuma, still laughing, introduced, "Guys this is Naruto Uzumaki."

"You're Genma's old neighbor, right? He told me all about your youthful anecdotes," Guy spoke, his mouth stretched into a grin.

"Yeah, I am," Naruto spoke slowly, "Which reminds me, mind telling Unhealthy Oral Fixation that he owes me money?"

"How old is this girl?" Kakashi questioned in shock, "And why does she know what an oral fixation is?"

Asuma shrugged, "What are you, like twelve now? According to Genma, she's been like this since she was eight."

" _How?_ " Kakashi asked.

"I blame Ero-sennin's books," Naruto responded honestly, "The prostitute who lives across from me taught me how to read from those books."

Kakashi sweat-dropped, "I have so many questions, I don't even know where to begin."

"Wait, why does Genma owe a young girl money? Did he lend some from you? That is quite unyouthful." Guy spoke with a frown.

Naruto shook her head, "Nah, your boyfriend bet me that there was no way my sexy jutsu would give the Hokage a bloody nose. I disagreed. I won. So now I want my money."

"Do we even want to know?" Asuma questioned.

"Probably not," She admitted, "Anyways I'm here for a different reason. Have any of you seen Crazy-Snake-Lady? I can't find her anywhere."

"I'm fairly certain I saw Anko around Training Ground 12," Asuma stated.

"Perfect! Thanks Mini-jiji!" Naruto grinned, "Oh and Creepy-Green-Freak, don't forget to tell your boyfriend about my money!"

"I won't forget Naru-chan," Guy promised, still chuckling.

Kakashi stared after the blond unblinkingly, "Seriously. Where the hell did this girl learn how to talk like that?"

* * *

Anko blinked, "You want me to train you?"

Naruto nodded determinedly, "I can't produce a clone. I've tried literally everything, and I need this jutsu to graduate. Hell, I've even improved my chakra control! But still: nothing. I just have too much chakra, it's literally impossible for me to produce one unless my chakra control gets infinitely better, which would be improbable with the graduation so close. I'm growing desperate here."

Anko blinked, still in shock, "And you want _me_ to train you. Me."

"Like I said, I'm desperate."

"Why me?"

Naruto shrugged, "I would have asked one of the Uchiha's to do it, but Shisui is still on his never-ending mission, and Itachi is busy with ANBU stuff. I don't know the other jonins that well, so that leaves you."

"And what do I get out of it?"

Naruto grinned, "I just need you to teach me _one_ cloning jutsu, just so I can graduate. It will probably take a single afternoon. Help me with this, and I'll give you a jutsu capable of taking down _any_ pervert."

Anko grinned slowly, a terrifying look on the unstable woman, "And this is tested?"

Naruto nodded, "I took down the Hokage himself with it."

Anko laughed, "Kid, I knew you were a riot! You got yourself a deal! Tell me, have you ever heard of the Kage Bunshin?"

* * *

Silent as a fox, Shisui dragged a kunai against the sleeping targets throat. As he wiped the blood off his kunai, Shisui slipped into the blanket of the night, disappearing from the scene of the assassination.

The last year had been quite taxing. It was never easy playing the role of another man, unable to break character. He had settled down in Iwa, making friends, establishing a large network. But everything eventually came to an end…

* * *

Naruto cheered loudly as she was handed, finally, her very own headband. Tying it reverently around her neck, she blinked away her tears as she grinned proudly at Iruka-sensei, "I told you I'd do it."

Iruka smiled, "I knew you would, Naruto. I knew you would."

So Naruto Uzumaki, proud new Genin of Konoha, left the academy with a grin so wide, she was afraid it would be permanently stuck in place. Slowly, the smile grew smaller and smaller. All around her, parents and family members congratulated the new shinobi, the families all smiling joyfully. She let her eyes scan the crowd for Sasuke or Itachi, but they were nowhere to be seen.

Naruto let her eyes drop as she slowly started to make her way home. _I will not cry, I will not cry,_ she swore to herself, using her sleeve to wipe away the stray, traitorous tears. But then she bumped into something: hard.

Reaching a hand up to rub her forehead, she looked up to see her offender. Her jaw unhinged in shock as she gazed upon the onyx eyes and boyish grin of her closest companion, "Congratulations, Naru-chan."

Shisui burst out in laughter as he was practically tackled onto the floor by the small blond. Yeah, it was good to be home.


	10. The Truth

Shisui whistled happily as he practically skipped through the village. Oh how he had missed his home! Iwa was nice and all, but it didn't help that he spent the entire time living under festered paranoia, his Mangekyo enhanced memory taking account of every ninja he had run into during the Third Shinobi War. He was just lucky that he was too young during the war for anyone to recognize him now.

Anyhow, he was just happy to be back home. He had missed his family, the little Uzumaki included. Speaking of the blond, she was all too excited to see him after her graduation. Shisui in all honesty was just glad he was able to make it on time. They had spent the next two days staying up late and catching up on what they had missed in the time they had been apart. Shisui was beyond proud to see Naruto had greatly improved in chakra control, and had even learned the famously difficult Kage Bunshin. Her chakra coils really were out of this world.

Today the adorable genin had somehow got roped into teaching the Hokage's grandson something, but it was for the best. Shisui had some personal business to attend to anyways.

He was soon taking a seat in his favorite stool at his favorite bar, ordering his usual drink of whiskey neat. With his eyes closed, he felt his chakra slowly seep out of his body and across the room, taking a note of every presence. A smirk appeared on his features as someone sat besides him, "I heard you were back."

Shisui opened his eyes to see the unemotional eyes of Hatake Kakashi, his mask hiding the handsome features that Shisui knew to be beneath, "It seems you heard correct."

Kakashi nodded, "Asuma will be glad to see you."

Shisui snorted as he took a swig, "No, he won't."

Kakashi eye-smiled, "No, he won't. But Kurenai will."

"What is it that you want Hatake?" Shisui asked, giving up on the pretense, "You're not one for small talk, _especially_ with me."

Kakashi grimaced. It was true, there was no love lost between the two jonin. Hatake had disliked the arrogant Uchiha since youth, his battle prowess and relation to Kakashi's useless teammate was all that the mask wearing jonin needed to hate him. At least that was what he told himself. Truth was, he hated how quickly young Shisui won the respect of his mentor, Minato Namikaze. Shisui was just as young as Kakashi was when he graduated, however while Hatake spent years training before seeing battle, Shisui graduated in the thick of the Third Shinobi War, bloodying his hands at a frighteningly young age. His use of the sharingan was unparalleled even amongst the veteran Uchiha, and was an absolute natural at infiltration, his tiny lithe body easily missed by most adults.

As if that weren't enough, he was also one of the only people in the world privy to the Fourth Hokage's biggest secret. While that would, in theory, bring two people closer together, it only served to alienate them. Kakashi thought Shisui to be untrustworthy, being too young to understand the full gravity and magnitude of the secret. Shisui thought Kakashi to be an arrogant know-it-all who wasted Obito's final gift. Needless to say, the two weren't exactly friends.

"I'm going to be the sensei of Team 7, consisting of Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki," Kakashi admitted sheepishly.

Shisui felt his eyes widen in surprise, "Why are you telling me this?"

Hatake nervously scratched the back of his head, "Look Uchiha, I know we're not exactly the best of friends, but I felt as if you have to know. Sasuke is your cousin, and Naruto… well Naruto is as much my responsibility as she is yours."

Shisui felt his grip tighten on his glass, "So that's what this is about. You felt as if her mothers student should be privy to her whereabouts. That's funny, considering that no one ever thought to keep me in the loop before."

Kakashi winced once more. This was why he hated talking to the Uchiha prodigy. Not only was he quite annoying for a genius, but it just wasn't worth the guilt that crept up his throat each time Shisui ruthlessly cut him with the truth, "Shisui, besides the Hokage and myself, you are the only one in the village that knows of Naruto's true parentage. And frankly, you spent more time with Kushina than the two of us combined. When it comes to teaching Naruto, you might be the best one to ask; you have a first hand account on how to deal with a jinchuriki."

"Then let me give you a little piece of advice, Hatake," Shisui spoke slowly as he rose from his seat, "Naruto is going to be even more powerful than her father, don't you _dare_ mistake her for the idiot I'm sure her file states her to be. If you even try to get away with teaching her as little as possible, I'll hunt you down myself. And don't make any mistake, the only reason I'm giving you the curtesy of a warning is because we are fellow peers, so don't make me regret it."

* * *

Naruto stared with wide unblinking eyes at her closest friend. The usually jovial Uchiha was uncharacteristically solemn, his lips stretched into a pained grimace as he recounted a slightly altered version of a story that he was all too familiar with, "The fox was just too powerful to be killed, and the only thing that could hold the sheer magnitude of a nine-tailed demon is a human. However, it would have been impossible to seal the Kyuubi in a person with fully developed chakra coils, so the person had to be—"

"A newborn," Naruto interrupted, "A fresh, newborn baby. And I was the only one born in the village on that night."

Shisui nodded slowly, "You are the jinchuriki of the nine-tailed fox, the container of the strongest demon in existence."

Naruto accidentally let a few tears slide down her cheeks, "I am a demon."

Shisui shook his head rapidly, taking Naruto's small delicate hands in his own, "No Naruto, _no._ You are not a demon, merely its container. You are still the same foul-mouthed little girl who enjoys playing pranks."

"But the villagers were right to hate me this entire time," Naruto choked out, "I am holding the same demon who killed all of their loved ones. They were right to hate me."

Shisui furiously shook his head, tightening his grip on Naruto's hands and looking deeply, pleadingly into her wide blue eyes, "Do not say that, _never_ say that. You are holding the demon, that is true, but as its _jailer_. You holding back the fox is the only reason we are still alive. You are our hero. You are _my_ hero."

Naruto wiped away a few tears, "You think I'm your hero?"

Shisui nodded once, "I _know_ you are my hero. Remember, I was there that fateful night. I faced the fox myself, there was absolutely nothing I could do against the sheer magnitude of his prowess. By sealing the fox into you, the Hokage sacrificed his own life, all for Konoha's future. He did not have a choice."

Naruto let a small grin climb onto her features, "Well then, I guess I'll just have to work doubly as hard to show the villagers that I am more than just a container, huh?"

Shisui let out a laugh. Yeah, Naruto was going to be alright, "I guess so kid, I guess so."

"Don't call me a kid," Naruto pouted, her adorable features scrunched up in mock annoyance.

"I call em like I see em," Shisui responded with a chuckle. This was how he wanted to remember Naruto, he thought, all adorable and cute. For certainly the Hokage was going to kill him when he found out what Shisui had done.

* * *

"That was idiotic of you," Itachi stated monotonously as the two elder Uchiha's watched Naruto and Sasuke spar in their favorite training field.

Shisui scoffed, "If the third Hokage had it his way, Naruto would never know of the burden she carried until she was at the very least, 15. At that point it would probably be too late. She needs to know of the power she carries so that she could be cautious about using it in the future."

"It was still as S-ranked secret," Itachi spoke slowly, attempting to take control of his temper, "The Hokage can see this as an act of treason. You should have spoken to him first."

"The Hokage would have just banned me from saying anything and then it really _would_ be an act of treason," Shisui remarked, his eyes never straying from where his two favorite newly minced genin were exchanging blows.

"Then perhaps you should have just not said anything."

Shisui quickly turned to his eldest friend, his eyes flashing the Mangekyo in warning, "Are you actually suggesting," he spoke slowly, threateningly, "That I should have just sat idly by as Naruto went on missions outside of Konoha, knowing nothing of the terrible power she wields and the consequence of tapping into it?"

"That's not what I'm saying Shisui."

"Then what _are_ you saying?"

"I'm saying that you acted recklessly, and that your own life and future as a ninja is in jeopardy because of it."

"That's only if the Hokage finds out."

Itachi eyed his friend wearily, "Please tell me that you don't actually think that the Hokage won't find out about this?"

Shisui shrugged, "For a man who is commonly referred to as the Professor, he still hasn't found out that his most powerful weapon and pseudo-granddaughter is living with a jonin five years her elder, and most likely successor to the hat. It's been two years since I have moved in, and old man Sarutobi still has no idea."

Itachi sighed, "It's still risky Shisui. You should have let someone else tell her, someone who could probably relate to her more or help her with this information."

Shisui resisted the urge to groan. Most of the time, he forgot that Itachi was a year his junior in terms of actual age, and several years his junior in terms of shinobi experience. Yet in moments like this, it showed. Itachi wouldn't have been old enough, and especially not close enough to the deceased fourth Hokage to know the secret behind Naruto's true parentage. In fact Itachi had never even met the Hokage, nor his beautiful wife. Shisui was different. Shisui had fought alongside Minato Namikaze during the battle of Iwa, he assassinated multiple targets as Obito Uchiha took care of the distractions, he had punched Hatake Kakashi across the face for misusing his sharingan. Most importantly, he was personally taught by Kushina Uzumaki; Konoha's seal mistress, Naruto's mother, and the last jinchuriki. The elder Uchiha was privy to secrets that were so hidden they didn't even warrant a rank. If there was anyone in the world who could teach Naruto about her heritage, barring Jiraiya, it was Shisui. Not like he could tell Itachi that, though.

So instead, Shisui Uchiha just sighed, "Well I don't see any volunteers lining up to help the girl, so it looks like I'll have to do it instead."

"It was still reckless."

"Itachi… In Iwa, during the war, I met the other jinchuriki. No matter what happens, I do not want Naruto to end up like them. So if I have to commit treason so that Naruto will end up happy, then so be it."

* * *

"So?"

Naruto barely dodged a punch coming straight for her as she quirked an eyebrow at her emo friend, "So what?"

"So how do you feel now that your precious _Shisui-kun_ is back?" Sasuke mocked in a high pitched voice as he attempted a high kick.

Naruto blocked the appendage with her forearms as a blush crawled up her cheeks, "First off, I don't sound like that!"

Sasuke snorted as Naruto continued, "And second of all, it's a complete headache! I had forgotten over the course of the last year how much of a pain living with a Uchiha was, and now I have to deal with three of them over all the time! Plus, Shisui still wins the award for most irritating Uchiha."

"You know, the girls in our class would _kill_ to be surrounded by the three of us at all times," Sasuke remarked.

"Well, the girls in our class are absolute idiots."

Sasuke chuckled lowly as he extended a leg, causing Naruto to trip and fall, before placing a kunai to her throat, "I win again, Dobe."

"DAMMIT!"

* * *

Naruto resisted the urge to slam her head onto the table in irritation. She had been having a great morning, Shisui crept out in the middle of the night for some reason or another, so Naruto had been able to have a relatively peaceful breakfast. She had hummed happily all the way to the academy, excited to receive her team placements. Nothing could ruin her mood!

Of course, then she was placed in a team with Sasuke Uchiha. SLAM! She hit her head on the table again in frustration. Not only was she forced to live with one bastard Uchiha, now she had to deal with another one on her team?! Seriously she couldn't just catch a break.

To make matters worse, Sakura Haruno, fan girl extraordinaire was also assigned to their team. The pink haired banshee had spent the last three hours trying to talk to Sasuke, who was steadfastly ignoring her with astonishing ease. Really, Naruto envied the boy, she wished she had the ability to block off all the screeching.

As if all that weren't enough, their sensei was seriously late. As in even Iruka left a few hours prior when he realized just who exactly was going to pick the three genin up. All in all, Naruto was angry. It was only natural that the first response to come to mind was to set up a prank…

* * *

Kakashi watched his newest ducklings through scrunched up eyes. Sakura Haruno fit the fangirl profile perfectly, if the loving looks she was shooting the uninterested Uchiha were to be believed. Sasuke on the other hand acted like every typical genius Uchiha. He was bored, arrogant, and bordering on completely antisocial. That was going to take some work.

Then there was Naruto Uzumaki, the dead last of her class and jinchuriki of the nine-tailed. She had her mothers personality with none of her fathers affinity for academics. She was going to be a tough one. On paper, there was no one more perfect than Kakashi to train her, after all, he himself was trained by the girls father. But in reality, Naruto was nothing like her father, her looks notwithstanding. She was completely her mothers daughter, and it was that realization that prompted Kakashi to seek out the assistance of Shisui Uchiha. He should have realized the younger man would be wildly unhelpful. Not that Kakashi could blame him. He hadn't been exactly pleasant to the genius Uchiha in the past.

They had quite a complicated and checkered past. While they were both professional, never allowing personal feelings to come between them on a mission, it was a different case when they were past the safety of their village walls. Shisui barely tolerated Kakashi's presence at best, while Kakashi wanted absolutely nothing to do with the man who reminded him so much of his deceased teammate. Kakashi knew it wasn't Shisui's fault that he was the only other excitable Uchiha, but his bitter feelings didn't really understand logic.

Naruto sweatdropped, "White-haired-cyclops literally told us nothing but his name."

"If you know my name little Naru-chan, then perhaps you should use it," Kakashi advised, amusement coloring his words.

Sasuke looked between the two, "You've met before?"

Naruto nodded in response, "Yeah he's friends with Mini-jiji and Creepy Green Freak."

Sasuke nodded as though that cleared everything up. Huh, it seemed as though the Uchiha and Uzumaki were closer than they portrayed themselves to be.

"Okay pinky, you're up first," Kakashi said with a fake eye smile.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. Well, what I like, or should I say person I like is…" Sakura stammered with a squeal as she looked at Sasuke, "What I hate is Naruto and other girls who think they can date Sasuke."

"Right back at you pinkette," Naruto groaned, "And for the millionth time, I AM NOT INTERESTED IN THE TEME!"

Sakura huffed incredulously as she continued, "And my dream for the future is…"

With the squeal that came out of her as she looked at Sasuke with hearts in her eyes, it didn't take a genius to know what the young girl was thinking. Kami he hated dealing with fan girls. Instead of spending more time on the hopeless girl, Kakashi turned to the object of her affections, "Okay brooding Uchiha is up next."

Sasuke shot him a look so malicious that Kakashi _swore_ he had to have picked it up from his bitter elder cousin, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like tomatoes and my family, I hate fan girls, and my dream for the future is to join the ANBU and protect what's precious to me."

Well. Kakashi certainly didn't see that response coming. Although he supposed that Sasuke probably wanted to follow in the footsteps of his two idols. "Alright blondie, your turn."

Naruto also shot him a look that was ridiculously similar to the one Sasuke himself gave him. Interesting. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen and my precious people, I hate the fucking Uchiha's and every other bastard who thinks it's appropriate to break into my house in the middle of the night. Oh, and I hate fangirls. My dream for the future is to become the first female Hokage and beat that bastard flirt to the hat!"

While Kakashi had no hopes of figuring out what prompted half of those responses, it seemed as though Sasuke did not have the same trouble, for the moment Naruto was done with her declaration he practically kneeled over in laughter. Sakura however just watched the girl in abject horror, "Naruto, a young lady shouldn't speak with such foul language!"

"Oh bite me pinky," Naruto snarled.

Kakashi just placed a sympathetic hand on the horrified genins shoulder, "Oh Sakura, you may as well get used to the language now. It won't get any better."

* * *

Shisui took another gulp of his drink as he slammed his head onto the table.

Itachi smirked a little in bemusement, "Remind me again, Shisui, _why_ you have such a big problem with this?"

Shisui groaned as he forcibly picked his head off the cool table, "Our adorable little ducklings are stuck with _Hatake Kakashi_ as a sensei. Literally the worst person imaginable."

"What are you talking about, Kakashi might be a pervert, but he's awesome!" Anko remarked as she slid into the booth besides Itachi.

Kurenai slid in besides Shisui as she softly remarked, "Kakashi is odd, certainly, but he's a good man and a powerful ninja. I'm sure your cousin will be fine under his tutelage."

Shisui shot a glare at the two women before a deep chuckling interrupted him. Pulling a chair to the table, Asuma took his seat, "Oh you adorable, beautiful young women. Truly I forget just how youthful you both are."

"What do you mean by that, Asuma?" Anko questioned, taking a large swig out of the bottle in her hands.

"What I mean is that Shisui and Kakashi have been at each other's throats since the Third Shinobi War. Hell, it would take another war to make things right between them," Asuma kindly explained.

"But wouldn't Kakashi make a great sensei for Sasuke? He has the sharingan after all," Kurenai asked timidly, shrinking back a bit as she noticed that Shisui's glare seemed to intensify.

"Oh no, do not get Shisui started on Kakashi's sharingan," Asuma quickly warned, but it was too late.

"He's an idiot, plain and simple. I don't care that cousin Obito gave him the eye, but does he have to misuse it in such a way? I mean seriously, what kind of idiot uses it to mindlessly copy jutsu?! Do you know how much strain it can have on the human brain to memorize all of that, especially considering that his body in incapable of even using like 70% of them!? And if that weren't bad enough, he is entirely self-reliant on it! He would seriously be screwed in a fight if someone impaired that eye, really he's giving a bad name to sharingan wielders everywhere."

Asuma shot Kurenai a look, "See what you started?"

Itachi just sighed, "Shisui, I have been teammates with Kakashi for years in the ANBU. He's not that bad."

Shisui snorted, "I'll believe it when I see it."

Wanting to switch the topic, and realizing quite correctly that none of them had even the tiniest sliver of hope in understanding what was sure to be a ridiculously complicated relationship, Anko shot a look at Kurenai and Asuma, "So I heard the two of you were given genin teams. How'd the brats do?"

Kurenai beamed as she replied, "Well Hinata is an absolute doll, I look forward to helping her get out of her shell. Kiba is a little rough around the edges, but he is strong. Shino can use some help opening up, but he will make a wonderful tactician. Truly the three will make a wonderful tracking squad. They passed with flying colors."

"Wait," Shisui interrupted, "You're a jonin Instructor? Don't you have to be a jonin for that?"

Kurenai blushed, "I forgot you weren't here for that, but yeah, I passed the jonin exams a month ago."

"Congratulations," Shisui said genuinely, his wide grin showing off his boyish dimples, "I'm happy for you. You'd make a wonderful sensei, unlike a certain cyclops I know."

Before Shisui could go on another rant, or worse, actually start flirting with Kurenai, Asuma interjected, "I have the second generation Ino-Shika-Cho. Ino is an absolute fangirl, obsessed with the young Uchiha. Choji wants to do nothing but eat, and Shikamaru is too lazy to do anything but cloud watch. But damn if that kid isn't a bigger genius than his father."

That got everyone's attention, "You think baby Nara is a better tactician than his father?"

Asuma nodded, "Well, not yet. But one day, certainly."

"Good," Itachi nodded, "Shisui could use a talented strategist when he's Hokage."

Anko spat out her drink, "Wait, you really think Shisui's going to be Hokage?"

Kurenai shuffled a bit in her seat, "Um, hate to break it to you Anko, but it's basically confirmed. Shisui Uchiha is going to be the Godaime Hokage."

* * *

"So you're…"

Naruto shuffled in place, her eyes not meeting Sasuke's as he stared at her across her kitchen counter, "The jinchuriki of the Kyuubi."

Sasuke sighed deeply, "Naruto you're such an idiot."

The blond lifted her head, unshed tears glistening in her eyes, "Huh?"

"You're an absolute _moron_ if you think I would care about a little thing like this."

Naruto laughed in disbelief, "Little thing?! I carry the worlds strongest demon in my gut!"

Sasuke shrugged, "Yeah, well you're still a Dobe. And only a person even more idiotic than you would believe that a moron like you could be a demon in disguise. I mean seriously, what kind of absolute fool would ever think—"

Sasuke was interrupted as he was tackled off his seat in an over enthusiastic hug, "Uh… Dobe?"

Naruto tightened her grip on the raven-haired boy, "Thank you, Teme."

* * *

"And THEN we finally got the bells!" Naruto narrated excitedly as she took another bite of her ramen, "I still have no idea what Sasuke said to Sakura to make her cooperate with us, but it seemed to work."

The bell test. Good to know that Kakashi was just as predictable as ever. "And Sakura didn't mind working with you?"

Naruto shrugged, "Not really. I mean, she was giving me weird looks the entire time, but I think that's just because it seemed as though Sasuke and I were actually getting along."

"And no one has noticed that you and Sasuke are actually friends?" Shisui questioned.

"We're not friends," Naruto remarked, "We are casual acquaintances at best."

"Mhmm," Shisui said playfully, "I think you just don't want to admit that you actually enjoy our company."

Naruto scowled, "As if I could ever enjoy the company of a Uchiha."

"Admit it, you _loooove_ us," Shisui taunted.

"Ew, never!"

Shisui laughed loudly, he had truly missed this. It was good to be home.

* * *

Danzo scowled as he was handed a report from his Root agent. The Uchiha brat was back from his year-long mission, and already he was giving Danzo a headache. There was absolutely no one in this entire village that he hated more than Shisui Uchiha, the meddlesome brat having long ago ruined his plans for Konoha by brokering peace between his clan and the council. His most complicated and power-oriented political move in decades, ruined in one fellow swoop.

It would have been perfect, he mused, if the Uchiha coup d'etat and following massacre went according to plan. Danzo would have been much more powerful, the next in line for the Hokage hat, with a sharingan well in his grasp and no Uchiha's to oppose him.

But Danzo made one small miscalculation; he underestimated Shisui's strength. Not having assigned enough Root members to incapacitate him, Shisui was able to kill them all and get away relatively unscathed, with just enough information on Danzo's plans to completely ruin him. Having gone straight to his clan head Fugaku, Shisui had done what no Uchiha thought possible; he brought them peace.

And now thanks to Shisui's efforts, he was to be made the next Hokage. Well Danzo would rather die then to watch Konoha place the hat on Shisui's head.

Shisui Uchiha was not going to be the Godaime. Not if Danzo had any say.


End file.
